


Suna no Hoshi

by eri_quin



Category: Naruto
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-03-10
Updated: 2014-03-10
Packaged: 2018-01-15 06:12:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 17
Words: 68,282
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1294405
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eri_quin/pseuds/eri_quin
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Yondaime Hokage, Minato, tells his wife to flee to Suna, if something were to go wrong in Konoha after his death. An attempt on her daughter's life makes Kushina decide she must do so, and dies in the Kazekage's arms, after pleading for his help and being promised it.</p>
<p>After years of being unable to find Uzumaki Naruto, because of a case of mistaken gender, she finally comes up when graduation for the Academy comes and he assigns her to his sons' team, with Baki leading them.</p>
<p>And so, because of all this, somehow a female Naruto is raised in the Sand, and the result is the creation of Team BAMF, an awkward and lovestruck Yondaime Kazekage, and the world at large being driven insane as Naruto strives to conquer the world and label her name on everything she can -deserts and bridges included.</p>
<p>"You're the Desert Prince? You look like a girl." "I am a girl." "...Oh."</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Sandy Safe Haven

Minato looked grimly over his son, keeping his gaze away from Kushina.

“No…no, Minato. Let me take the Kyuubi to the grave. You can’t make Naruto a host!”

The Yondaime Hokage winced and finally looked at his wife, blue eyes apologetic.

“Kushina-chan, I’m sorry. The Kyuubi no Youko will just revive sooner or later, and then come after Konoha again. I will seal the yin half of its chakra into myself using Shiki Fujin, and seal the yang half into Naruto using the Hakke Fuuin no Shiki. Besides, you saw that man…that man I believe to be Uchiha Madara. I know he will continue to be a menace in the future, and our son will need the power of the Nine-tails to fight him.”

“Please…Minato,” she swallowed down her tears.

“Kushina…don’t worry. I will seal the last of our chakra into him as well. If worse comes to worse, we can help prevent the Kyuubi from breaking out or help Naruto if he ever were to try to take full control of its chakra…And get to see him one last time,” he added sorrowfully.

Kushina nodded slowly, just as Hiruzen and a few other shinobi came into view. Outside the barrier, they seemed to be screaming at them, but they could hardly hear them.

“Minato, is there nothing I can do to change your mind? To just stay alive and raise our boy by yourself?”

“Trust me on this. It is not only for Konoha’s sake, but for our son’s.”

And Kushina only nodded reluctantly one last time, resigning to this.

“Hey, Motor-mouth?” Minato hesitantly began once more. Kushina faintly smiled at Minato’s old nickname for her. “…I know I wouldn’t deserve this last thing, but I need to ask you for one more favor…After this, I won’t be able to hold on because of the Shinigami, but I know you can stand to live a little longer. Please hold on for a little bit…check on our son. If something were to go wrong after I die, flee to Suna. Just talk to Nagi, ask him for help.”

Kushina looked at him tentatively, though she told him she would. Still, she wasn’t too sure about his request. She liked Nagi, really. She liked him as much as Minato did, though she wasn’t sure the Kazekage returned the sentiment as much or at all. She knew he was a good man, a bit reserved and maybe even callous and ruthless when called for…but he was a good man nevertheless. And no matter what anyone says or what’s been done, she knew he was an honorable man.

But she wasn’t so confident that Nagi would offer his help.

And then Minato was sealing half of the Kyuubi’s chakra, Kushina still holding onto it with her chakra chains, and then the Yondaime Hokage summoned the throne needed to seal the other half of the dramatically down-sized Kyuubi’s chakra into Naruto.

The claw that almost killed their son was thwarted by their own bodies, though Minato took the brunt of it so that Kushina would be able to at least live just those few precious moments longer that he’d hoped for.

As Kushina murmured to their son about how she wanted him to live, to never forget who he was, and how much she loved him, Minato handed the key to the seal to Gerotora.

“Listen to your Motor-mouth Mom, Naruto,” Minato smiled grimly.

And then he finished the sealing.

It was the last sight Kushina saw before she passed out, having grabbed Naruto and started cradling him close to her. She missed the Sandaime and his two ANBU bodyguards, the only ones to have witnessed the sealing, rush towards them. When she next awoke, she could barely stay conscious, realizing more importantly that her beloved son was missing. Panicking, she checked around, head turning this way and that before she was interrupted.

“Naruto-kun is safe, Kushina,” the Sandaime spoke with a weary voice.

She knew he meant well, but she didn’t believe him. There was a gut feeling that said that Hiruzen didn’t understand, that Naruto wouldn’t be safe in that village no matter what the Sandaime did for him. And because of the attack, Naruto would be living the worse the life of a jinchuuriki could offer.

A bloodcurdling scream made her heart stop in her chest and she was out of that hospital bed and up running towards the source as if her life depended on it. And it did –Naruto _was_ her life now, and she couldn’t fail him. She didn’t care that she was in a hospital gown or that she was running barefoot. Her baby was in danger.

Terrifyingly, there was a woman standing over her baby boy with a needle half full, a look of anger and also grief on her face as she poised to plunge the needle in again and finish the job. Kushina gave an animalistic snarl as she practically flew over and kicked the woman away, snatching her baby and pulling him close. She could already hear the pounding footsteps heading her way, and made the split decision quickly.

What chakra she had in reserve, she used to jump out the window and start to make her way towards Suna as her husband had asked. She didn’t hold back at all on the leftover chakra she had. She knew she was on the brink of death and she was going to do this last suicide run for her son. She could feel the wounds that the medic-nins hadn’t been able to fully heal reopen and bleed afresh, but it was far from her mind as she pumped chakra into her legs and sped out of Konoha and towards the sandy sanctuary her husband had promised for their child.

Her mind was single-mindedly on the task before her, getting her son to Suna as fast as possible. She didn’t know how much time had passed, only that she finally saw the beginning stretches of endless sand. She didn’t pause or slow down, but chose to actually put out more chakra to up her speed. Before she knew it, she was already seeing the high walls of the sandy village.

_‘What if Nagi didn’t take them in?’_

Doubts once again plagued her. Again, she believed in Nagi but not enough to entrust her son to him. She really did like the man…but Naruto was her son and her world and she couldn’t not make sure of everything –

Biting down on her lip, she reached the outer walls. But before the guard shinobi could catch up to her, seeing her approach, she moved quickly and found a small little niche near the opening of the walls where she slipped in her son, just in case things didn’t go well. She did an advanced Uzumaki fuuinjutsu that created an invisible barrier around her hidden baby, protecting him not only from the elements of nature but also invisible to everyone for a limited amount of time. Only the caster would know where the hidden being was, so Kushina was reasonably sure that Naruto was safe for now.

By the time she went to meet the guards who had been looking for her, her baby was invisible and protected from danger.

“Kushina-san, this is a surprise,” Nagi greeted stoically from his seat at his desk.

Kushina only gave a weary smile at first.

“I apologize for giving no notice and for springing my presence on you like this,” she started. “But I had to come here as soon as I could.”

Nagi furrowed his eyebrows, looking slightly confused and curious –the first sign of any emotion from the man since she came in and saw him.

“May I ask why? I was also under the impression that Konoha had been recently attacked by the Kyuubi no Youko. I regret that Suna could not come to your aid, but not only are we also still recovering heavily from the war but by the time I could mobilize a suitable force, it would have been too late. But should you not be with your village, helping the recovery process?”

She was quiet for a moment before she began to talk again.

“You know that I was pregnant at the same time as Karura, right?”

By the stiffening of his body at the mention of his late wife, he did recall that now.

“I gave birth last night,” and he winced, having put it together. He was a smart man; she knew he would’ve been able to easily piece it together with such little information. She didn’t miss his gaze traveling to the crib she just noticed off to the side, hidden and out of sight except in direct line of sight for the Kazekage. The baby there was asleep, but it was quiet and lay there with shifting sand surrounding it, oddly enough. She knew who it was then.

“You and Minato had no other choice that would have been better,” she murmured. “It’s alright, Nagi. In time, both’ll understand your choices. But I ask…can you, can you keep my son here in your village? I want Naruto to live a happy and full life, and Konoha will never let him have that. Just mere moments after I woke up and just only hours after Naruto was born, someone was already attempting to kill him. Please keep Naruto in Suna and away from Konoha. You understand, don’t you?”

She was exhausted and could tell her voice was starting to nearly sound like begging. But this was important and she couldn’t fail either Minato or Naruto.

“Yes, yes I do understand,” he quietly said, eyes moving back to his own son. “Gaara is still valued in this village, and still a symbol of hope. But I fear the life of a jinchuuriki and that he won’t be exempted from it, no matter how hard I try.”

“Strange to see him in office with you,” she noted casually, trying to keep him from being lost in dark thoughts.

“Yashamaru is still grieving and Gaara won’t let anyone other than me near him anyway,” Nagi answered hollowly. “You’ll be safe here, Kushina-san. I’ll make sure both you and your son are well protected and taken cared of here.”

“Thank you, Nagi,” she barely was able to breathe, finally feeling the pain as the adrenaline wore off and her mission had been fulfilled. She didn’t bother directly correcting him that he would only need to worry about Naruto. “Please take care of him for me. I know you’ll take good care of him…and Gaara…”

Nagi’s head snapped around to face her in alarm, and the panic on his face was a novel experience for her. He had always been cool and calm, even when Minato was able to prod some amusement out of him…

“Kushina…Kushina!” he sped to her side, the blood on her finally showing. She had used the original seal of invisibility that was a major facet of the barrier seal earlier to hide the pooling of her blood on her. Warm arms held her close, cradling her as she started to slump lifelessly off the chair. Her neck was comfortably supported, and she was moved so she could look up easily into Nagi’s face.

“You’re bleeding. Kushina, what happened?” he asked in panic.

She gave him a painful smile. “After the extraction of the Fox, it ended up impaling me and Minato with a claw. Not a fun way to go, I’ll tell you. I wasn’t able to be healed all the way before I fled the village and gave all I had to reach you.”

“I’ll get you help. Suna may not be the best in healing, but there must be something we can do,” Nagi said determinedly.

She shook her head slightly. “Please. Please just look for Naruto. I left him near the walls because I wasn’t sure if you’d take us in, even though Minato was sure you would and told me to come. I’m sorry, I’m sorry. I should have had more faith in you, but it’s my son. _But please find him_!”

“Shh. Where is he? What does he look like?” Nagi soothed.

 _‘This must be the Nagi only Karura was allowed to see,’_ Kushina thought with an inward sad smile.

“He’s a small thing. Blond, blue-eyed. Minato’s features, though he might have more of my nose. But he has whisker-like markings on his face. He’s near the front of your walls, near the entrance. There should be a small niche there that I was able to fit him in. Please, Nagi…”

“Shhh,” he soothed again. “I promise, Kushina. I promise you and Minato I’ll find him and I’ll take care of him myself.”

Kushina couldn’t stop the tears that had finally escaped, relief and yet also sorrow filling her.

“We always believed in you, Nagi. We never thought badly of you and we understood. You’re a good man and Karura loved you, even in her last moments. I know she did. And Minato and I, we always cared about you.”

He gently wiped away her tears, feeling that once again he was failing to save another woman he cared for.

“I cared about you and Minato too,” he revealed. “The two of you had always been my two closest friends,” he confessed.

Kushina gave one last sad smile as she finally faded away.

It was quiet in the office and he stayed there a moment, cradling the woman in his arms. He glanced at his son, murmuring reassurances and that he’d be back before he got up and headed out of his office, still holding Kushina. He had faith in his son’s sand and Gaara was revered for the moment anyway. He had time to bury an old friend and plan a small funeral. But he also had to immediately order some of his shinobi to go on a thorough search of the area for a blond, blue-eyed baby boy that he swore he’d take care of for the last of his two friends.

The seal barrier, unfortunately, had a time limit that wouldn’t be exhausted even after the caster died. Even as multiple shinobi passed by the little niche that held little Naruto, they could neither see nor sense the baby that slept on peacefully –unaware of the search for him or the fact that his last parent had finally passed away.

When the barrier finally did fade, hours later, it was unfortunately a civilian family coming back to the village that found the baby. And unaware of the search for the very baby they had, they took it and found the village orphanage, handing it over. And because the Kazekage chose not to reveal the markings on Naruto’s face, in fear of someone figuring out the true nature of the child and spreading the information (with no idea on what the reaction would be and with the hope of being able to give the child a normal life), no one reported the new baby as the one for the search.

There was also that, with Kushina being too out of it during the attack and swept up in getting Naruto away from Konoha, Minato also preoccupied with the Kyuubi attack, as well as the medics who were busy with the many incoming patients and rushing away after the delivery…

…no one found out that Uzumaki Naruto was actually a female.

Started 6/19/11 –Completed 7/27/11


	2. What I've Done

Nagi looked over his village, inwardly sighing to himself. The days passed were growing harder on the village, but there was really nothing he could do. Especially since that old bastard heading the Land of Wind was downsizing the budget to Suna and regulating missions to Konoha.

He frowned, trying to think of a way to save his village from ruin once more. The main attempt he’d tried had so far seemed a failure, and he could barely look at his own son because of it. Not because he was ashamed or disappointed in Gaara, but it seemed as if he’d condemned his own son for nothing...

_I know you’ll take good care of him…and Gaara…_

He winced, reminded once again of another boy he’d failed, along with words from so long ago.

“Kazekage-sama?” a male’s soft voice crowded into his office.

He turned slowly to face his brother-in-law tiredly.

“So you’ve heard the Council’s latest clamoring?” Nagi’s barely hidden sneer wasn’t loss on Yashamaru. “Even Chiyo-baasama has told me her worries about Gaara as a failure.”

The blond man flinched.

“Nagi, you know Gaara doesn’t mean to harm the others. It’s just that –”

“I’m not stupid, Yashamaru,” Nagi snapped. “I know my son doesn’t mean to harm any of them. It doesn’t stop the fact that he _is_ harming them, and doesn’t stop the Council from freaking out.”

“Does he not perform well in your lessons?” the slightly older man asked gently.

Nagi’s shoulders slightly slumped, but not enough to willingly show emotion to someone, even if it was sort of family.

“Yes, he does well enough, I suppose. But that’s in lessons and what I teach him to do with his sand. Outside, his control seems to become nonexistent and he becomes more concerned about having people be with him. His sand reacts to his wants.”

“Perhaps if you spent more time with him, aside from training,” Yashamaru tried. “I know being around him hurts you, but it hurts him to be so alone.”

Nagi frowned at the other man, immediately closing up.

“I don’t have the time to coddle him. You do enough of it anyways,” he said stiffly.

Yashamaru sighed, changing the subject back. “There must be something we can do.”

“Gaara is a danger,” Nagi said tiredly. “Even you have to admit that. Without any control, he’ll continue to lash out –even if it is unconscious. People are still getting hurt. You tell me how I can help my son and show the Council he can still give Suna hope.”

“Maybe we can devise a test of some kind?” Yashamaru thought up desperately.

The Kazekage frowned, but sat back and thought on it more.

“Yes, that would do. If we can test him and prove he can handle the power of Shukaku, then he will continue to be seen as valuable…and not drive me to an early grave with all this stress,” he firmly rubbed his forehead in agitation.

“How will we test him then, Nagi?” Yashamaru refrained from smiling sadly, knowing the other man wouldn’t appreciate it.

“…Corner him, Yashamaru. I want you to focus on psychologically. Lie to him about his mother, and we will see if Gaara can retain control of Shukaku,” he sat up and declared determinedly.

Yashamaru hesitated, “Nagi, are you sure that’s wise? His mother…Karura…”

Nagi flinched at the mention of his late wife and averted his eyes.

“Is there anyone else he treasures more?” Nagi murmured. “There’s no one else that can truly test him and make him care enough to lose control. It must be…her.”

 _‘Sounds more like you’re talking about yourself,’_ Yashamaru had wanted to retort, but knowing just how any mention of Karura either set Nagi off or affected him deeply, he didn’t. He, too, was still mourning his sister, but he’d focused all his energy on Gaara and the two other little ones –unlike Nagi, who seemed to try to do the same, but unhealthily with work or just allowing himself to wallow in grief.

The only other thing Nagi seemed to pour all his energy into, and much better than work and grief, was the search for little Naruto.

The search was still ongoing and Nagi still kept hope, but with every year that passed, that hope seemed to slowly die out. But it was the only thing keeping Nagi hanging on, and the only thing the man could see as his only redemption.

“Very well then. I’ll get ready and proceed tonight,” Yashamaru sighed, inwardly this time.

It was then that night that things came to a head. In another timeline, in another life, Yashamaru would be losing his life and Gaara would forever be changed. But it was here, where several things that were there that hadn’t been before –would definitely change things.

Here, the voice of one of his good friends, Uzumaki Kushina, would haunt him.

Here, he would make the choice to watch over Yashamaru and subtly observe the proceedings closely himself, instead of drowning in saké in his office and pleading to Karura’s ghost for forgiveness in what he’d just decided and for everything else, like he had in the original timeline.

And here, with the hope of another boy that he’d always hoped could provide the companionship Gaara had always wanted, and help him live with the life destined for one of their kind, Nagi still hadn’t given up on his son or resigned himself to being the real monster in this story.

_I know you’ll take good care of him…and **Gaara** …_

Nagi jumped off his chair, accidentally knocking over the unopened bottle of saké he’d been planning on practically drinking himself to death with that night, rushing out of his office and where he knew Yashamaru would have cornered Gaara.

“Your mother…your mother never loved you,” Yashamaru’s voice sounded in the distance. It sounded like he was badly hurt.

Nagi twitched. _‘I didn’t say to tell him **that**. And I certainly didn’t say you had to go get yourself hurt, idiot.’_

“Y-Yashamaru? No! No…this is just an order from my father, isn’t it? Isn’t it?!” Gaara’s childlike voice cried out.

Nagi winced at that, knowing that was partly true and that it admittedly hurt to know his son would automatically think that. And that he would so easily think badly of him…he laughed bitterly inside and thought maybe he should have stayed behind in his office and drank until he’d passed out.

“That’s not true. I-I willingly accepted this mission.”

“Why, Yashamaru?” Gaara’s little sobs were something he’d taken care to avoid, simply because he couldn’t bear it on top of everything.

“Because…I never loved you, Gaara. I hoped killing you would avenge my sister’s death –she who named you after the phrase ‘a self-loving carnage’. She did so because she hated Suna so much, not for love of you, who she also thought of as a monster, and in hope that you would one day take vengeance on this village and on her behalf.”

If Yashamaru lived through this, Nagi was relegating him into acting. He’d deserve it, that bastard. Nagi didn’t specifically tell him to absolutely destroy Gaara’s image of his mother…

Finally peering where they were, Nagi frowned as he saw each of their conditions.

“Please die.”

Then he saw Yashamaru pull down the zipper of his front and he inwardly cursed, just knowing what that idiot was going to do. Acting quickly, he used his Gold Dust to quickly slip under each explosive tag and dragged it upwards, forming a ball nine feet in the air. It was the farthest he could on such short notice, but it was good enough to stop the explosion from reaching Yashamaru and Gaara inside the ochre shaded ball.

Not seeing that Yashamaru had survived, partly from the shield his sand had quickly formed to protect him from the blast and partly because he was overwhelmed by the events and his emotions, Gaara screamed and some of the sand rushed towards himself and cut into his forehead.

Too late to stop that, Nagi immediately rushed forward and landed into a crouch between the two. Ignoring Yashamaru for now, he concentrated on Gaara, using his Gold Dust to cocoon around Gaara and mainly prevent him from going out of control and letting the demon loose, which gave him enough time to startle his youngest and give him a moment. Refusing to give a thought to what he was doing, because he knew he would hesitate and waste precious time (allowing that dratted Shukaku to gain more control), he backhanded Gaara and dazed him enough to get his son to listen to him.

“Calm down,” he hissed. “Breathe. Ignore the roar in your head and focus on breathing. I’m going to take your uncle to the hospital.”

That was enough to set Gaara off again.

“H-he’s not my uncle –!” the young boy started hysterically.

“Enough!” Nagi roared, constricting his Gold Dust around his son warningly. “I said, breathe. One, two, three, breathe. One, two, three, breathe. Focus on nothing else but that. I’ll deal with you when I get back.”

He grabbed Gaara by the scruff of his neck, ignoring his son scrunching his eyes close and muttering “One, two, three, breathe” over and over again, with his tiny little hands clenching. Using his Gold Dust to gently wrap around the unconscious Yashamaru, he carefully carried the man with them, dropping off his son in his room.

“Sit on my bed and focus on nothing else but breathing,” Nagi glared.

Gaara was already entranced on doing that, calming down but seemingly still agitated. Nagi would have to hurry up, so he could come back quickly and make sure Shukaku would not come out…especially as he’d dumped his son in his room, and Nagi wasn’t too enthused with the idea of having to come back to see his room and home destroyed as the demon went on a rampage and proceeded to destroy the village as well.

He was soon in the hospital, directing the staff immediately to his brother-in-law, and organizing the momentarily panicking employees.

“Stabilize him. Do as much as you can for him, but at the least –stabilize him. Someone…” he hesitated, but trudged on. “Send word for the Slug Sannin Tsunade. Wherever the hell she is, send word that her help is desperately needed. Contact Konoha for any leads on her,” he reluctantly added.

When he was done with that, he hurried home and went straight to his room, seeing Gaara sitting still as a board on his bed and still chanting the mantra. He stared for a moment, before tiredly running a hand down his face. Then he was striding towards his son and roughly grabbing his arm, dragging him after him as he moved with a purpose through his home, taking a detour to the kitchen and shoving some stuff into a bag. Finding the training room, he went in and slammed the door after them, activating the rarely used seal that wouldn’t let anyone in and anyone out of the room.

He whirled around to face his wide-eyed son, who was staring back at him in surprise, fear, and anxiety.

He resisted the urge to flinch.

Instead, he explained the truth of tonight in a tightly controlled voice, shaking from his attempts to make sure he didn’t let himself start to shout or act out in anger.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry! I don’t mean to –!” Gaara sobbed.

“I know you don’t!” Nagi finally yelled. “Does that stop you from harming the others anyway?”

“But I don’t mean to!”

“ _It still happens_! Gaara, you were never simply a monster to Suna, to any of us! Don’t you understand? You represented hope and survival! No one simply and initially looked at you as a monster, because you were meant to be our savior! I understand you don’t mean to harm any of them, but it does not change the reality that _you are_. You are judged by your actions, not your intentions –because the consequences are what remains afterwards. People _are_ getting hurt,” Nagi finished quietly.

Gaara also finally quieted, still staring back at him wide-eyed.

Nagi ran a hand through his hair in agitation, averting his eyes away from his son. Still near the door, he let himself have a moment of weakness and slumped against it, eyes closing as he tilted his head up in exhaustion. It was his son and he had no fear of anyone else seeing him like this, even if he usually didn’t care for his family seeing him vulnerable either.

Coarse grains of sand touched his cheek gently and he reluctantly opened his eyes and looked down to see his son watching him anxiously, though now his anxiety was for a different reason than earlier.

Dazedly, Nagi touched the floating grains of sand and absentmindedly let it fall through his fingers, watching in detachment. They fell through softly before defying gravity once more.

“I cannot be both a single father and kage,” he murmured, staring at the sands, blinking back tears he didn’t think he could shed any more. “It’s impossible. All kage know that. There are just choices to be made that are impossible once you’re in that position, and times where family and position are pitted against each other. That’s why no kage wishes for a family when they are kage. The same choices to be made in times of war, in times of poverty, and in times of tension.

“These are choices to be made that define the survival and existence of a village. You were made a jinchuuriki to save Suna, just as Namikaze Minato chose to make a jinchuuriki out of his son to save his village from the Kyuubi no Youko, while Kumo have both of their jinchuuiki made for power and to secure their power. Just because our village is not in immediate danger, like Konoha had been, doesn’t mean we aren’t. Suna is…Suna is dying a slow death. As they prosper and regain from their losses, and now profit from our pain, we have nothing left but empty faith and dying hopes,” Nagi trailed off, as if now just speaking to himself.

Nagi blinked slowly, eventually coming back to himself somewhat.

“You were supposed to be as much a hero as Namikaze Minato wished his son, Naruto, to be –as _I’d wished you to be_. I made the wrong choice,” Nagi said hollowly. That was all he was nowadays. Hollow. “I chose wrong and did wrong by you. But there’s no going back and I live with my choice every day, all the time as I see you. I’ve kept a fool’s hope ever since, as I’d made a fool’s gamble. I cannot undo what I’ve done, but don’t make me regret my choice even more than I do. Don’t make me even more of a fool.”

Nagi slid against the door to the ground, looking back up at the ceiling.

“I’m tired of this. I don’t want to do it anymore,” Nagi muttered to himself, lost in thought again.

_Don’t give up, Nagi. It’s just a little while longer._

Wasn’t those words said to him in a familiar time…back when they were still at war…

_‘But I don’t want to, Karura. I’m just so tired. Please. Let me give up.’_

The words were deliriously in his head, but escaped unknowingly through his mouth anyways. He closed his eyes and drifted away.

Gaara’s teal eyes remained wide-eyed, but he hesitantly came closer, eventually climbing into his father’s lap and hugging him close.

Started 8/11/11 –Completed 8/13/11


	3. Orenji Suna

Nagi groaned as he woke up, blinking wearily into consciousness. He could feel a small weight on his lap and blearily looked down and saw his small son clutching onto him, quiet and still but at least awake. Somewhere during his sleep, he’d managed to wrap his arms around Gaara, and now they were still embracing the boy. Hesitating, he sighed inwardly and allowed himself this moment with his son and tightened his hold, letting himself just sit there with his son in his arms for the moment.

Then he abruptly stood up, though he wasn’t callous enough to let Gaara drop to the floor (subtly gently putting him down), and walked away to the middle of the room, leaving his back to his kid. He took a shuddering breath and then turned stoically back to Gaara, straightening up.

“We’re not leaving here,” Nagi said harshly, glaring. “Until you can have enough control over your sand, we’re staying in this room.”

Gaara looked at his dad in confusion, shifting awkwardly along with his sand.

“Your training begins now.”

Even if he had to be harsh, then he’ll play the bad guy in order for Gaara to win over Shukaku and the Council. His son may hate him, but the demon will not win and neither will he let the Council condemn his son when he already had to from his son’s premature birth.

“You’ll hate me, but at least you’ll win,” Nagi stated coldly.

And then he called up a large amount of Gold Dust and started sending it after his youngest. From then on, Nagi forced himself to go into the mindset of Kazekage and ignore whatever failed instincts he had as a father.

Still, it is not easy and possible to completely disregard those instincts and close his eyes to his son’s pain and his own misgivings.

But he would not let the Council take his son from him completely, when they had already forced his hand against Gaara since his birth and had taken apart his family from the moment he’d gained them in the first place.

He may fail as a father, but he will not fail _them_.

It had been going on for days. The resources he’d stuffed into a bag were all that he’d brought along to keep them going. The first day, after a rigorous start, Nagi had allowed a break and gave his son some of the food he’d carelessly tossed into the bag.

_“Aren’t you going to eat, Otou-san?” the little red-haired boy tentatively asked his father._

_“No,” Nagi answered shortly. “Just finish your food so we can go back to begin training.”_

By the third day, Gaara had finally noticed it. His father hadn’t eaten at all since throwing the both of them in there and training like hell.

_“Otou-san, you haven’t eaten…”_

_Nagi looked at his son blankly. “And I’m not going to.”_

Gaara didn’t understand and was starting to worry even more. His father’s form was starting to slump, and his eyes looked dilated. Gold Dust hovered around him lethargically, but Sabaku no Nagi continued to stand and face his son with an unwavering stare.

“Again, Gaara.”

“Otou-san, you need to eat,” Gaara blinked back tears.

Nagi frowned. “I’m not eating. I _won’t_ eat. Not until you finally have control over your sand,” he finally revealed his reason.

Gaara stared horrified at his father. “But you’ll die! You’ve already gotten so sick! Otou-san –”

“I’m not going to eat, Gaara. If you really want me to live, then hurry up and get control of your sand. Because I’m not going to until you do,” his father’s voice was hoarse by then.

Then his father unhealthily took yet another soldier pill and a small sip of water from a bottle, before making a sharp gesture with his hand and directing some of his Gold Dust towards Gaara again. Gaara redoubled his determination, knowing if he didn’t his father would continue to starve himself to death.

By the end of the week, his father still didn’t seem satisfied and neither was Gaara with his progress. He wanted to be in control so badly, to hurry up and get his stupid sand under his control so he could save his father. Because his father didn’t look like he could last any longer.

Suddenly, his father collapsed onto the floor, sitting with his posture slumping and his legs sprawled out in front of him.

“Otou-san!” Gaara screamed, rushing over.

Nagi barely lifted up his head, halfheartedly glaring.

“I didn’t say we were done.”

“But –!”

“Just because I’m sitting down, doesn’t mean I can’t keep going,” Nagi declared. His Gold Dust rushed out from around him and pushed Gaara back.

Even collapsed against a door, body slumped and head drooping in exhaustion, barely able to lift his head up and strain his eyes to see Gaara…his father was still able to push Gaara to his limits.

Two hours later, Gold Dust hung lazily around him in there, just hovering. Gaara tensed, waiting for the next attack, but suddenly the Gold Dust dropped to the ground all around them and stayed there. His head snapped towards his father, who lay unmoving against the door.

“Otou-san? Otou-san!” Worried and becoming hysteric, he ran to his father and shook him, gaining no response.

“Otou-san!”

Fearing that it was too late and that his father was already dead, he commanded his sand to grab onto his father and lift him carefully away from the door. He thought quickly on how to get out, because the training room was literally a death chamber if you didn’t know how to get out and didn’t have resources to keep you going. It was why neither he nor his siblings were allowed near or in the training room, unless with their father, who was the only one able to open and exit it because of the seal (which ironically enough was partly also there to keep them from entering).

The only thing that could get them out now was his sand. Determinedly, focused and refusing to think he could fail at this, he rushed all of his sand at the door and practically demolished an opening. Blinking in surprise, wowed that he was able to actually do it, he turned back to his father. Remembering how his father had used his Gold Dust to gently wrap around…Yashamaru and had carried the man, Gaara mimicked it hesitantly, growing more confidently as he seemed to be doing things right.

Then he was stumbling to the hospital on his short, childish legs. A pretty lady he’d never seen before was walking around, giving out orders and directing the hospital staff. Her blonde hair was in short pigtails hanging just behind her shoulders, and there was an odd diamond on her forehead.

“H-help! Help my otou-san!” he yelled at her.

Startled, she turned to him and frowned, but then immediately spotted his father and focused on him instead, starting a medical scan. There were cries of ‘Kazekage-sama!’ and a rush towards his father, but his sand warningly kept the others away and the lady beside them also helped to deter the others.

“Keep your calm!” she snapped at them. “And prepare a room for the Kazekage! I’ll diagnose him and then pass it on to the Head Doctor here, and from there we’ll start work. Get a move on!”

There was a scramble of people and then they were all in order, working diligently on their assigned tasks. The lady then turned to him, her frown lightening up.

“I’m Tsunade. I want you to tell me everything that happened,” she directed towards Gaara sternly.

The little boy gulped, but then steeled himself and determinedly told the blonde lady everything that had happened. The more he told, the worse her frown got again. Until finally, she just shook her head in exasperation and sighed.

“Sounds like that brat,” Tsunade grumbled. “Always stubborn too. Come on, gaki. Let’s go see your dad and make him healthy again.”

With Yashamaru stabilized, that left Tsunade freed up to focus on the Kazekage. And work she did, thoroughly making sure the red-haired man was pulled out of the danger he had stupidly put himself in. He’ll be bed resting for awhile and unable to do much, but at least he’ll live. She was very sure of that, once she had her hands on him. Though, after she was done and he was completely healthy, that might change.

Really, what a stupid idea, starving himself to train his kid. She was just itching to bust his head open.

After she was done and he was as stable as his brother-in-law, who was another one with stupid ideas (really, the men in that family were just _stupid_ ), she left to find her assistant and take a break, and probably get drunk while she was at it.

While she was gone, a small girl with blonde hair brighter than even hers, practically bounced into the Kazekage’s room, having snuck into the hospital to explore. She leaned over him, staring with wide blue eyes.

For him, he’d been in and out of consciousness since being put into the hospital. His mind was hazy and everything he saw was either blurry or he just blacked out completely. And then he was seeing a cherubic face bearing down on him, watching him with worried, impossibly blue eyes and chin-length bright blonde hair that cascaded around her face like a halo, leaving him wondering if an angel had decided to temporarily watch over him.

“Don’t worry,” she murmured in a childish voice. “Princess Charming is here to wake you up completely, Sleeping Beauty.”

He felt soft lips peck his gently and then something sprinkle onto his face. He went back into unconsciousness afterwards.

When he next awoke, it was to a more familiar blonde looking down at him with a strange look on her face.

“…Nagi, why the hell do you have glitter on your face?”

He blinked in confusion. “There…there was an angel,” he muttered uncertainly.

Tsunade rolled her eyes before she started to scowl down at him. She suddenly slammed her fist down on the side table next to his head, causing it to break in half and scaring the hell out of him, jolting him fully awake and aware, and wiping the glitter off of his mind. He sat up immediately in alarm, the glitter literally coming off as well.

“Baka,” she hissed. “You and that idiot brother-in-law of yours have no common sense. That should have been your head I hit instead of that desk!”

Nagi cowered back for a second before straightening up and glaring back.

“But it worked, didn’t it? How else did we get out of that room, if it wasn’t for Gaara and his sand?” he said smugly.

“You shouldn’t be so smug,” Tsunade’s hand balled up dangerously. “You practically traumatized your kid!”

“But he won’t be looked at as a monster anymore,” Nagi retorted quietly.

She reeled back before looking at him wearily. “You don’t know that.”

“I do,” he insisted. “Suna will see to that. If Kumo can do it, then Suna can too. And unlike Kumo, Gaara is a symbol of hope not power. He will be more treasured.”

“Baka,” she muttered fondly, tussling his red hair.

He scowled at her and ducked away, though he had reacted a little too late. He inwardly sighed at his health.

“I’ll stay here awhile,” she revealed. “Make sure you and Yashamaru get back on your feet completely and help and advise your hospital a little more before I get going. That way you can never say I never did anything for you.”

He smirked, but she mock-glared at him in warning. She turned serious.

“I hear…you have Kushina’s grave here,” she started solemnly.

Nagi winced. “Yes. She died here and I couldn’t just give her back to Konoha, after she’d fled there in the first place and came here for sanctuary. It’s near my compound, in a nice, quiet place where none of the locals can disturb it and where I can easily and frequently visit. I can take you there once I’m cleared to leave the hospital.”

“That’s nice,” Tsunade said wistfully. “I wanted to see her at least once before I left here. I never got to know the full story of what happened to her and why she left and how she died.”

He hesitated. “…I’ll tell you. When we visit,” he promised.

She looked at him searchingly before giving a small nod.

* * *

 

Tsunade walked around the desert village, reminiscing on how long it’s been since she’d been there. Shizune followed quietly behind her and they made no effort to interact with the locals. Most of them avoided or looked at her in fear or dislike, while the veterans looked at her probingly and many in respect.

She _was_ tempted to make a visit to Old Lady Chiyo.

She smirked to herself, sure that if she really did that the old woman would go into a conniption and come after her with an army of puppets. It was almost enough to make her go and make it a reality. She restrained herself, but only barely. It was rather disappointing actually, though she still hoped that the old woman would tromped down herself and confront her.

“Lady, Lady~” a little girl’s voice sing-songed and she turned to see a cute little girl with strangely familiar features standing nearby an alley, a cute orange dress fitting nicely on her. She had a crown of flowers around her blonde head, and accompanied with flower bracelets and necklace to match.

Tsunade smiled at her, gesturing her to come closer. The little girl skipped over to them and held out another necklace made up of flowers.

“Here,” the little girl chirruped. “A pretty necklace for a pretty lady.”

Tsunade knelt down and bowed her head, letting the girl place the necklace around her neck. She smiled gently at the girl.

“Why thank you, little one. That’s very kind of you.”

“Na-chan! Thanks for the bandaid. You’re so nice! And always helpful! Play ball with us later, ‘kay?” a boy caught sight of them and interrupted, waving cheerily before he ran away with a red ball he was holding onto tightly

Tsunade suddenly became speculative, mind already thinking up on the future of the village and how much help it would need in advancing in the medical department. It would start with this little girl…

“Na-chan,” she copied the boy. “Do you like to help people?”

The little girl nodded her head enthusiastically.

“And what do you think about healing? Would _you_ like to help heal others and help save people?”

Blue eyes widened adorably. “Yes! Yes! I wanna make sure everyone’s happy!”

She turned to Shizune, who had been watching the girl in fondness and amusement.

“Shizune, your old bracelets…and the new ones. Hand them over to me. I can teach you the same things from them myself without those scrolls,” Tsunade explained and Shizune complied, when the older blonde gave the eleven bracelets to the girl. “These are my life works, little one. I want you to study hard. If you _really_ want to help people, then don’t give up on learning these and be serious about them,” Tsunade lectured lightly.

The child nodded gravely. “I promise. Pinky swear,” she said seriously, and the childish oath made both women smile.

Tsunade hesitated, before her next act made even Shizune gasp. She tentatively grabbed hold of her grandfather’s necklace and slipped it off her neck to replace around the little girl’s.

“One necklace for another,” Tsunade smiled weakly, touching the flower necklace she had in appreciation for the girl. “Now get along. Study hard and be good!”

The blonde child nodded, eyes wide once more, before flitting off with a dancing rhythm to her steps.

“Tsunade-sama?” Shizune questioned her.

“I know, Shizune,” Tsunade murmured. “But…I have a gut feeling about this.”

_‘Please let my gamble pay off this time.’_

And while they stood quietly, the little girl they spoke to was currently in her special place, a pretty fountain hidden in the midst of buildings and koi fish swimming happily in it. She continued her threading of flowers, the new bracelets dangling around her wrists.

A little boy would then stumble upon her, gaping in awe. With the sun bright and shining down on her, her blonde hair made to look like a halo and her skin slightly glowing from the sunlight and the bright colors she wore, it wasn’t hard to mistake her as an angel as he had in that moment.

“Hello,” she tilted her head, looking at him.

Gaara was still speechless. He’d always been told stories of angels, who were sweet and kind –just like this one here in front of him.

“H-hi,” he greeted shyly.

She gave him the brightest smile, something no one had ever done to him before, and he fidgeted.

“You need something nice,” she declared. “Here.”

And then she skipped over to him and placed a crown of flowers on top of his head, matching the one she wore, and then placed a little kiss on top of his nose, with him turning bright red with her actions.

“There! Be princely! Bai bai now~” she giggled and then she was dancingly walking away, humming an unfamiliar tune and leaving behind a dumbfounded boy.

A little later, once Gaara finally found his feet, he once again was confronted with a group of kids playing ball. They saw him and tense, before one boy with a bandaid on his cheek looked at him oddly.

“You know, he doesn’t look like a monster,” he stated decisively. “Monsters don’t wear flower crowns…do they?” he asked doubtfully.

Gaara tentatively touched the flower crown the angel had given him.

“Nah, real monsters don’t wear flower crowns. That’s just ridiculous,” another kid said in reply.

“Hmph,” the first boy stuck out his tongue. “He ain’t no monster then. Hey you! You wanna play ball with us?”

Gaara looked at them with wide, hopeful eyes, nodding eagerly. As he played with them, carefully trying to keep his precious flower crown on his head and trying not to mess it up as he played, one thought went through his head.

His angel had helped him finally make friends.

Started 8/13/11 –Completed 1/6/12


	4. The Desert Prince

“Oi, Naruto! RENT!”

She grumbled to herself, getting out of bed and sleepily ruffled her short hair. Her feet plopped onto the ground and she trudged towards her door.

“Yare, yare. Hold on a tic, Hiiro,” she yawned and fumbled around in a drawer, grabbing a handful of ryo as she continued onto her journey.

The door opened and the sandy apartment complex owner stood there irritably, tapping his foot.

“Did you get coffee in you yet?” she rolled her eyes, shoving the money towards him.

“No. Now stop getting late on your payments,” he snapped at her before turning on his heel and striding away.

She huffed inwardly, slamming the door shut as she stumbled around her small apartment, looking for one of her uniforms. ‘Course, she goes to the Ninja Academy and they don’t really have uniforms…but it’s the price to pay when you’re an orphan and living on your own. The nicest and cheapest things she could filch from charity were a set of boys school uniforms.

And yes, in Suna, you have to pay for charity.

Not that she was too bitter about that. She knew that the village was in hard times and suffering from poverty, much as they tried to hide it. Still, why couldn’t she have lucked out on some shinobi outfits instead?

The leather bracelet on her arm dangled off her wrist and brought her attention to it. Biting her thumb, she swiped the blood swelling on it across the leather band, summoning her newest scroll. Glancing down at it, she grimaced at the next thing that she had to focus on in her personal training.

Another chakra control exercise.

She cursed under her breath, but decided to get a start on it. Grabbing a water bottle, she slapped it onto her kitchen table and sat in front of it, holding her hands tightly around it as she focused on making her chakra try the first part of the exercise –making tiny waves and contain it in the bottle. If she could do this exercise, it would heighten and improve chakra control specifically in her hands. Which would be a big help with the medical jutsu she’s been practicing all these years since she’d been entrusted with the leather bracelets she’d been given by that pretty blonde lady.

Aside from medical jutsu and other medical and personal knowledge from the Slug Sannin, whose name had been branded on all the scrolls and she’d looked up once she’d known to do so, she also had the original leather bracelet that had been on her since birth.

 _That_ had given her her origins, her identity, and a direction in her life to follow on her own in her current life, alone as she was. Her name had been engraved on the front, allowing the orphanage she’d been in to know her name at least. When she was older, funnily only by three, she’d managed to unseal the first scroll from the inside of her bracelet. Unable to read it completely herself, she’d gone to the Master of the orphanage, who was actually a retired shinobi, and asked for help.

Intrigued, the man had read it and then looked shocked, and shocked her in return when he willingly read it to her. The first scroll was a letter from her mother, explaining who she was and who Naruto was, and where they’d come from –Uzu and then Konoha. It then had several seals on the bottom that her mother had promised would hold several scrolls that would give her information on her clan, a scroll that was from her father, notes on how to deal with the demon in her seal, and anything else Uzumaki Kushina had managed to seal about Naruto’s legacy before the attack of the Kyuubi happened on her birth. Kushina had also written that there were more seals on her bracelet that would contain all the Uzumaki fuuinjutsu that she’d managed to collect, as well as seals that she knew outside of their clan.

But the rarest would be the last two seals that Kushina had said she’d made to seal scrolls her father had left to her.

Within years until present, she had split her time evenly between learning and mastering fuuinjutsu and the medical knowledge left to her by Senju Tsunade. And her father, who’d she learned was Namikaze Minato, had left her his two prized jutsu –the Rasengan and the Hiraishin. Of course, Kage Bunshin, the first jutsu stressed that she had to learn first, was a big help in her training.

Then again, there was a price for her mastery or ongoing mastery of these things…

Hurrying up getting ready and slipping her water bottle into her pouch so she could practice in class, she almost bolted from her apartment to race to the Academy. By last minute, she glanced out her window and quickly stopped herself, watching from her high view to the Kazekage’s office window across from her. It was actually a long distance, so she was glad for her superior eyesight. She made a mental note to thank Kyuubi and stroke his ego.

In the distance, she could see the Kazekage finally in his office, unusually late for once, and walking around, getting things ready. She gave a soft smile and continued to watch, even though she knew she was definitely going to be late to class for it.

This…was a habit that had started ever since she was kicked out of the orphanage and given her own apartment instead. In weary days when she was younger, the practically routine appearance of the Kazekage in the same view at the same time had given her much comfort. She would gaze across the village and watch him move around in his office, for some reason finding calm and reassurance from it. And even in the present, she still found that comfort.

Reluctantly moving away, she sighed to herself as she went to ninja school.

“ _Late_ , Uzumaki-san,” the instructor frowned sternly, to which she just smiled charmingly and ignored the dreamy giggles and sighs from the class. “You shouldn’t be so offhand in your schooling. You’re only average in taijutsu, have absolutely _no_ talent in genjutsu, and barely bothered to search out ninjutsu to practice for the several research projects that were assigned!”

Well, her focus on her interests and determination to master them had more or less cost her her Academy grades and attention in class, as usually she ignored whatever was going on and what they were learning in favor of focusing on her scrolls and working on her own stuff.

“I’m sorry, Shinoda-sensei,” Naruto cooled her smile to a more diplomatic one. “It’s not that it’s your teaching, but my interests are unfortunately always wandering and selfish to what they want to focus on. It’s purely my fault. I just can’t help it.”

Shinoda cleared his throat uncomfortably and nodded, looking away even with a telltale blush on his face.

“H-hai. Just try to focus for once _somewhere_ in today’s lesson. How else are you going to pass the Exam early, as you keep saying you will?”

Naruto just nodded and then looked out for an empty seat.

“Please sit here, Ouji-sama!” she heard one of them call and Naruto’s eyes zeroed in on one of her more adamant admirers. She continued her polite but cooled smile, striding over gracefully and sitting in between the girls.

“Sari-chan, Matsuri-chan, thank you lovely girls for the seat,” she flashed them a slightly wider smile, rewarded by two blushes.

“I-it’s no problem,” Matsuri mumbled out.

Life was good for the moment.

When class was over, she approached Shinoda, who nodded at her and reached into his desk for a piece of paper.

“Uzumaki-san, as the oldest in class, I understand it must be frustrating for you to be held back,” he started out. “The only reason why you were not put into the class above is because your birth date was after the cutoff date, forcing you to enroll for the year after.”

She nodded in agreement.

“However, as all shinobi villages allow, each Academy always allows for early graduation and for those who wish to, can take the Genin Exam earlier. There are three tries, two early ones and the last opportunity is with their graduation class. As you have requested, you will be taking the Genin Exam earlier, with the older class above you.”

“The class I should have been in,” Naruto noted with a playful pout, purely to entertain her teacher.

His rolling eyes indicated slight success.

“This will be your first try, Uzumaki-san. There is no need for you to feel you absolutely have to pass and rush yourself.”

“Relax, Shinoda-sensei. I have this,” she reassured him with an impish grin. She took the paper and plopped back into her seat, getting to start on it. It wasn’t too bad, even though bookwork wasn’t her thing. After that, she handed it in to her teacher.

“I will hand this to the teacher supervising the Genin Exam next door. When all the students of that graduating class have finished, I’ll escort you over for your turn.”

When she finally had to go next door, she had to do a simple kunai/shuriken accuracy test and then perform the three standard Academy jutsu. And then a quick spar with one of the teachers, which she could only thank her speed, stamina, and endurance for helping her last as long as she did. All that, plus the written test, she’d been warned of by her mother in one of the scrolls, which told her how Konoha usually initially test genin.

But this was not Konoha.

After what she knew was what Konoha ninja students had to do to pass, she also was to undergo what was specifically Suna-brand Academy testing. First, she had to demonstrate one or more of Sand-specialized techniques, with the rating scale depending on how good she was at it and how many of them she could do. The next part was a little more dangerous as she had to correctly identify the poisons she was given by the description they gave, and by her own observations. At least she didn’t have to try any of them out or find out which ones were poisons or not, or something complex. They were all poisons, she just merely had to figure out which one was which by the information she was given.

And then there was the survival obstacle course in which all participating teachers were to try to attack her while she went through it, and try and get the best time.

In some ways, she wasn’t sure how she managed to pass.

“Congratulations, Uzumaki-san. You are no longer an Academy student, but a grunt,” Shinoda smirked. “You pass quite nicely. Although, I wonder how I will deal with your little fanclub once they find out and in the days you’re gone.”

“Thank you and I’m sure you’ll do fine,” Naruto smiled one of those cool smiles again.

“Che, so says the Suna no Ouji,” Shinoda sniffed.

“Maa, don’t tell me you use that nickname too, Shinoda-sensei,” Naruto rubbed the back of her head in embarrassment.

“Hmph, just get on with it, _Desert Prince_ ,” the man lightly-mocked.

She shrugged and gave him a salute, turning and deciding home was best so she could finish up that chakra control exercise she was on. If she could finish it by that night, she could work on figuring out the Hiraishin a little more…

* * *

 

Nagi rubbed a hand down his face tiredly, glancing at the stack of folders in front of him. It was the new batch of genin’s profiles that he had to look through to make the teams, with the list of recommendations next to him. He automatically thought to do Gaara’s team last, already knowing that at least Kankuro would be in it and that he’ll just have to search hard for a suitable third member. If only he hadn’t already promoted Temari to chuunin, but he had been desperate…

Trying to make quick work of the pile in front of him, he looked at the recommendations and searched out the correct folders from the pile, either approving or disapproving teams as he read. He’d rearrange the teams he hadn’t approved for later. Finally finished an hour later, he rearranged the unapproved teams into ones he thought fit better and then looked at the team listing for his youngest son.

Of course, there was Kankuro’s name right next to Gaara’s as he’d requested. And then there was actually a recommendation for a third member for him to look into. Originally, he thought of just putting Temari on the team anyway, or already having resigned himself to having to look through the pile more thoroughly and scrutinized each file closely to see if there were any possible matches to his son’s team –but he was rather pleased to see a recommendation, even if he wasn’t too hopeful about it.

He froze as he saw the name, hands tightening around the list.

_Uzumaki Naruto_

The woman who’d died in his office years ago’s clan name and the first name of a boy Kushina had begged for him to keep safe.

He darted to the pile and immediately searched through it, frantically trying to find the file that he _needed_ to see. Finding it, his hands trembled as he opened it up to find out where had little Naruto been all these years. And the first thing he read had him start laughing lowly to himself, even if somewhat hysterical.

Of all the…

But it made sense. Kushina had fled from Konoha on a crazy stint without any thought but to reach him, just after giving birth in an attack that cost her Minato, and there really wasn’t any time for anyone to know what sex the child was. It was an assumption that Naruto was a boy that had led to him missing her all these years.

And it was definitely Kushina’s Naruto, with the telltale whiskers and the resemblance to his old friend Minato. Bright blonde hair and impossible blue eyes, features of the Fourth Hokage that seemed magnified and somehow more vivid and brilliant in his daughter. Her age and birth date matched up, though he had to wonder how her record was accurate about that information when she’d been brought to Suna later than her birth, unless Kushina had managed to put some kind of information on the girl.

He looked over the Academy profile of the girl and blinked. Her grades were…below substandard, especially with Sunagakure’s strict standards. Though her scores on the Genin Exam was more promising at least.

Smiling softly to himself, for the first time in a long while, he approved the recommendation and hoped to see what kind of team his son’s group would grow into, especially now that he’d found Naruto.

Later, after much trouble with his puppets, his older son was on the verge of a meltdown. Kankuro had just been informed by his soon to be teacher Baki who was on his team. Well, at least he was finally on a team, after being held back to wait for Gaara. And there was no surprise to know Gaara was on his team.

But who was this Uzumaki Naruto?

He had been tempted to go out and interrogate some students about who he was, as he didn’t want to be caught off guard or anything by his new teammate…but didn’t really feel like putting in the effort to do so and had rather stayed in his room to work on his puppets some more.

“What’s your problem?” Temari’s annoying voice cut into his thoughts.

He looked irritably to see his sister sauntering in, and he stared enviously at the chuunin flak jacket she wore. Gaara had also silently appeared, sitting at the table immediately and taking a book out and beginning to read. He only spared a glance at his younger brother before sneering at Temari.

“Gaara and me got a team finally. And we have a third member. Don’t know who the idiot is,” he huffed, searching out a mandarin orange, looking around guiltily.

Temari snatched it out of his hand and turned her nose up at him.

“Don’t. They’re Dad’s favorite,” she rolled her eyes, but Gaara’s sand snuck over and stole it, handing it to the Ichibi jinchuuriki who calmly started to peel it and eat it.

Temari sighed and Kankuro pouted.

A piece was handed to him by some of Gaara’s sand and he wrinkled his nose at him.

“No thanks, Gaara. Really? With your sand?” he shivered and stared at the piece in revulsion, just imagining all sorts of bacteria, germs, substances-that-must-not-be-named that was probably transferred on it from the sand. Not to mention leftover grains of sand in the first place.

A brief smirk flitted across Gaara’s lips before disappearing as fast as it had come.

“So, who’s this new teammate of yours?” Temari brought him back to the original topic.

“Naruto…Some Uzumaki Naruto,” Kankuro grumbled.

Temari’s eyes lit up.

“You mean the Desert Prince?”

Both male members there stared at her.

“ _Who_?” Kankuro interrupted her happy humming.

“Oh, please. Don’t tell me you don’t know the Desert Prince?” Temari asked sneeringly. When both boys looked at her blankly, she sighed again. “Ouji-sama is really popular in the Academy. Everyone likes Ouji-sama. More formally, it’s the _Suna no Ouji_ , though I think in the beginning Ouji-sama was called Sabaku no Ouji for a more literal translation of Desert Prince, instead of the Sand Prince –though some girls and boys like to call Ouji-sama that too.”

Kankuro gaped dumbly at her while Gaara raised a hairless eyebrow.

“Why’d they change Sabaku to Suna?” was what Kankuro felt safe enough to ask without melting his brain anymore than it was supposed to.

“It might’ve caused confusion and think to be referred to Gaara,” Temari shrugged. “After all, it’s our family name.”

Kankuro furrowed his eyebrows in his confusion. “Why would it be referred to Gaara and not me? I mean, I’m a Sabaku too. And older.”

“Because you’re not as popular as Gaara.”

He pouted and Gaara briefly smirked again.

* * *

 

Baki glanced at the folders in his hand of his new genin. Gaara and Kankuro’s weren’t new to him, as Nagi had long asked him to take those two on as genin.

It was the new one…the girl of the group that set him on edge.

He’d heard of her. The Desert Prince. “Suna no Ouji” those teachers at the Academy affectionately called her, as well as the rumors of hoards of fangirls and fanboys at her beck and call…ready to act as an _army_ on her behalf.

He’d heard all the things said about her. Silver-tongued and too charming for the charm not to be a jutsu of some kind. Such pretty looks that dazzled you up. Oh, Baki had heard all of that and then some, especially as he asked around the Academy.

The _adoration_ spilling from everyone’s lips! It was outrageous. And unholy, he could tack on. He knew this girl was trouble with a capital T, and he was going to suffer having this team.

And she’ll be at the forefront of it all.

“Baki, you look like it’s the end of the world,” he heard his best friend and Kazekage speak dryly from behind him.

Baki turned slowly, numbly looking at the red-haired man with betrayal.

“Why did you do this to me? Why did you set this torture upon me?” Baki asked, twitching.

He knew the other man was happy he’d finally found the long lost Naruto, and he was happy for his Kazekage…but Nagi didn’t understand.

Nagi blinked. “What? What on earth are you talking about?”

“This team! Especially this Uzumaki Naruto!”

Nagi snorted. “It’s probably not that bad. Don’t be such a worrier. You’re just anxious about your first team and over worrying over things. Don’t worry so much.”

“ _You don’t understand_! You haven’t even _heard_ the things that I have about her!” Baki shouted hysterically. “You’ll make me rue the day I let you have this favor!”

Nagi shook his head, staring bemusedly at the other. “Why don’t we go and have a drink, and tomorrow you can tell me all about it? After you all meet and get together as a team?”

Baki frowned, thinking about it.

“Really. I think you’re just over anxious about having a team and hyping yourself up over the things you’ve heard. You don’t even know if the things you’ve heard are true.”

Baki took a deep breath and gave a sheepish grin at his friend. Yeah, Nagi was probably right…he was just agitating himself prematurely.

“Y-yeah. You’re right. I’m probably just overreacting. Let’s go get that drink, huh?”

Yes, he most probably was overreacting.

Meanwhile, a blonde newly made genin had finally tackled and finished the chakra control exercise she’d been working on –noting that the water responded rather well to her, actually –and whooped and hollered loudly in her apartment.

And in her excitement, hadn’t noticed that she was loading up chakra into the water bottle she was still holding onto, and therefore was unable to notice or escape it blowing up in her face and dousing her in water.

Started 8/11/11 –Completed 1/15/12


	5. Team Kickass, Assemble!

Naruto danced and hopped around her apartment, humming to some catchy tune she’d caught the other day.

“Da dada dun~ Da da!” she bopped her head, and after a particularly impressive hop, if she may say so herself, she found her other shinobi sandal she’d been looking for, for the past ten minutes.

“I have a team~” she sing-songed to the tune of the song.

She ran a hand through her short hair and nodded agreeably, grabbing one more item to complete the look. Securing the orange sash around her waist, she flattened and brushed down her clothes, making sure she was completely presentable. Then off she went, after one more quick glance out her window to see the Kazekage.

“Bye,” she said cheerily, and then she was off to the Academy.

Once there, she noticed that the closer she got to her soon-to-be old classroom, the noise level was becoming worse and was that…sobbing?

She hurried up and opened the door, sweatdropping to see the utter chaos happening within. Shinoda looked harassed and hassled, like he was at his wit’s end as he sat under his desk curled into a ball, gripping tightly to his head and entangling his fingers into his hair.

The rest of the class looked in various states of mourning and bedlam. The whole back row was wearing black, and some of the girls (and some guys) there wore veils as they sobbed into handkerchiefs. There was a corner protesting and having what looked like a sit down protest and holding several signs. She wasn’t even going to mention the other stuff going on…

Naruto took a deep breath before coughing lightly, though even that (coming from her) managed to catch all of the attention in the room. Shinoda slowly peeked out from under his desk.

With imploring eyes and a gentle smile, she looked towards the whole class.

“My, my~ Why is everyone acting up today? I was hoping to reveal the news of my graduation and celebrate with my beloved class,” her teasing tone in the beginning turned to being slightly sad, and still with that gentle smile, she continued to look at the class with a background full of sparkling roses behind her.

With a burst of energy, Sari and Matsuri separated themselves from the rest of the class and rushed towards her, trying to talk over one another and reassure her that they were very happy for her. The rest of the class followed suit, stampeding towards her with enthusiasm.

Shinoda kept glancing between the background oddly still there and Naruto, shaking his head.

“It’s like a jutsu…”

When the class finally settled down, Naruto went around and said her goodbyes, with many going back to being teary, though they were all still congratulatory. When she’d gone back to a slightly (only slightly) less hassled Shinoda, whose hair was sticking out everywhere, she stood in front of him and gently took his hands. Looking at him with a fond gaze, using bright blue eyes, she gave him another of her usual gentle smiles (between her cool and gentle smiles, he always did prefer the gentle ones).

“I’m very sorry for all the trouble, my dear Shinoda-sensei,” she said demurely. “I thank you for everything,” she said formally, dipping her head and peeking up at him from underneath her front hair.

The rosy background appeared behind her again.

“It’s…like a genjutsu,” he muttered.

She took his hands still in hers and bent over them, kissing his knuckles sweetly and giving her gentlest smile and accompanied with soft eyes.

“H-hai, Ouji-sama,” he said dazedly. “I hope you well as a genin, and luck.”

And when she left for a nearby classroom where the graduates were waiting for team announcements, the classroom erupted back into chaos and Shinoda stood stock still in a daze, looking dreamily off into space.

There’s something to be said about princes…

In the classroom with graduates, Naruto sat patiently in her seat, while inwardly she was bouncing eagerly in her mental seat. Various teachers and students would pass by her old classroom and hear the pandemonium, wondering what in the world was going on, and eventually shaking their heads and yet nodding in understanding when they realized she and her graduating was the cause of it.

And when Baki passed by it, he had stared strangely at the door for a second before shaking his head and moving along to the classroom he was about to pick up his new female genin at. Gaara would have been there also, having graduated with everyone, but he had probably skipped out on the last class and waited with Kankuro at the usual place, especially as the two already knew who was on their team and the two of them were already together. Which left him to Uzumaki Naruto…

He entered the classroom and called her out, and when a pretty blue-eyed, blonde girl strode over to him, he was torn between thinking she might be trouble after all or that she seemed somewhat normal enough.

She was dressed as a shinobi, albeit in a more boyish style with clothing that reminded him of Nagi’s usual plain black attire underneath his kage robes, but then there was the strange addition of an orange sash around her waist. He didn’t bring it up until they were out of the Academy and heading over to the training grounds he preferred to work in.

“You’re wearing…an orange sash.”

“Mmhm,” she nodded cheerfully. “I love orange.”

“It’s not a shinobi color. It’s…too bright,” he said numbly, feeling the creeping “I told you so!” of his inner voice mocking him.

“Ah, but it’s _burnt_ orange! It’s a dark orange, Baki-sensei!”

He looked at her strangely from the side, though they continued to walk together on the path he was leading.

“It’s still not a shinobi color,” he pointed out.

She shrugged. “Well…true, yes. But it’s still a dark shade, isn’t it? Besides, orange is commonly associated with amusement, the unconventional, extroverts, fire, activity, danger, taste and aroma, and the autumn season –my season! I was born in October, you know? It’s just totally me, Baki-sensei. In fact, there should be a shade of orange renamed after me. And I’ll have you know, it is an important symbolic color of Buddhism,” she declared soundly.

Baki looked at her bemusedly. “Shinobi don’t really practice religion.”

“Heretic,” she accused, pushing out her lower lip. “Besides! Orange is the complementary color of azure, the color of my eyes! It just makes sense!”

“I…don’t know what to say to that,” Baki said truthfully, wondering what he had gotten himself into. Although, according to Nagi, he’d compared her eyes more to the likeness of sapphires, rather than the azure sky blues…

His new student sighed dramatically and pouted the rest of the way, but she had determinedly tightened the sash around her waist defiantly.

He was still debating to himself whether or not his reaction yesterday had been too much.

“About time, Baki-sensei!” he heard Kankuro called out rudely.

He twitched.

“So where is he, Sensei?! I’m bored! I wanna go on missions already, and just…do something!” Kankuro belted out, and Baki irritably pushed the girl behind him forward to meet her two teammates.

Kankuro stared, while Gaara perked up and tilted his head, looking slightly confused before being back to stoic.

“You’re the Desert Prince? You look like a girl,” Kankuro blurted out.

Baki mentally face palmed.

“I am a girl,” she blinked.

“...Oh.”

There. Baki decided. He was most certainly sure his reaction yesterday was spot on, and he was going to make sure Nagi knew that too.

Gaara, however, had been ignoring his brother’s mistaken assumptions as he continued to observe their new teammate quietly. He was sure she was familiar…She looked familiar and felt familiar, but he couldn’t quite recall how. He uneasily noted it, but decided to keep quiet and keep it to himself in the meantime.

“Hey, hey! We’re a full team now! Let’s call ourselves ‘Team Kickass!’” Kankuro said suddenly, and Gaara zoned in back to the conversation, which had seemed had taken another turn already.

“Eh…nah. Let’s be ‘Team BAMF,’” Naruto eagerly suggested.

“We vote then! Team BAMF,” Kankuro said, and Naruto raised her hand immediately, followed by surprisingly that Gaara did as well.

“I vote Team BAMF,” Gaara said stoically.

Kankuro cried out, pointing at his brother accusingly. “Traitor! How could you? What kind of brother are you?!”

Gaara hid his smirk.

“Haha! Team Badass Motherfu –” Baki covered Naruto’s mouth.

“Team Kickass, it is,” he muttered. “Let’s go get a mission,” he kept his hand over her mouth as he hustled her forward and led the way.

He refrained from the strong urge to massage his head. He’d rather call them Team Headache.

At the missions office, seeing that Nagi wasn’t there, Baki assumed that he was still working in his office. Shrugging to himself, he stood forward and got the attention of the mission clerk in charge.

“Team…” he twitched, “Kickass reporting and requesting a D-rank.”

He was stared at.

It was Suna tradition that each genin team come up with a name to christen themselves with, and typically they kept to using the name of their sensei, which was usually what was used formally on written forms and reports. And then there were the oddballs…

He would not forget how Nagi forcibly made their team call themselves ‘Team Golden’ and refused to have it any other way.

“Team…Kickass,” the mission clerk blinked. “Um, here.”

Baki hurriedly grabbed it and ushered his genin team out, embarrassed about the whole thing. He would have never uttered the name, had he not known that when Nagi heard about it, the man would’ve demanded he did and laughed while he did so. At least the Nagi he knew before he’d become Kazekage…

Thinking back on team names, there was also the old joke before Temari had been promoted, that she and her brothers’ team would be called the ‘Sand Siblings.’ But since she got the flak jacket, the joke was more nostalgic now.

He wondered what Nagi would have thought about that.

“Alright, kids. Time for our first D-rank,” Baki inwardly shook his head of thoughts. “This is what we have to do.”

Suna was different from Konoha in many ways. They didn’t need a second genin test, seeing as they vetted their genin thoroughly beforehand and the genin went through strict and comprehensive training in the Academy, with high standards. And then there was the manner of D-ranks that Suna genin undertook, in comparison to their Konoha counterparts...

…which is way far from Konoha D-ranks as you can get, as his team had been assigned to having to go out into the surrounding desert around Suna and eliminate a small colony of Sand Scorpions that have been alarmingly multiplying and particularly at a fast rate.

“Okay, Team. Let’s see how well you can figure out how to work together. Trial by fire, you three!” Baki ordered, his face straight.

He wouldn’t admit that he partly felt vindicated and had just _maybe_ had decided on such a thing for as petty revenge.

“Team Kickass, assemble!” Kankuro raucously shouted, before one of the things actually showed up and he balked.

He watched Gaara stand back and his sand rushed forward, tackling one of the giant scorpions by himself, while Kankuro looked hesitant and then buckled up and summoned out his favorite puppet to work with. Naruto was standing still, staring at the scorpions, but she didn’t look scared. Strangely enough, she seemed rather inquisitive.

“Hey…I don’t think this is gonna work,” she abruptly said, and the two boys looked her way.

“What? Then what else are we gonna do?! There are like a million of these things!” Kankuro shouted.

Gaara listened closely as well, but didn’t say anything. He directed his sand towards two of the Sand Scorpions, but a third was coming.

“There’s too many of them, they’re freakin’ huge, and they’re actually pretty tough,” Naruto grumbled, glaring at the scorpions like they had personally offended her.

She rummaged around her back and took out a scroll, summoning two pouches from it. She tossed one each to Gaara and Kankuro, either catching it with sand or with bare hands respectively.

“What are these?” Gaara questioned monotonously, though his hairless eyebrows scrunched together.

“Special explosive kunai.”

Kankuro freaked out and held it away, while Gaara’s eyes widened and he thrust it towards some of his sand and had it brought away from him at a distance.

“What the?! Why’d you throw it at us then?!” Kankuro shouted in alarm.

“Psh, you have to charge chakra through them first, Kankuro, and then they have a 10 second delay,” Naruto huffed. “I’m not going to get you blown up, you know.”

“Better than nothing,” Gaara declared, and brought the pouch closer to him again.

He charged quite a few, and between himself and his sand, they’d thrown the whole lot towards the colony and their home quickly. Kankuro only took a second before mimicking him, using his chakra strings in substitute. Naruto was just throwing her own batch by herself, though she was doing so rapidly, as if she was used to and made a habit out of throwing explosive kunai at giant Sand Scorpions on a daily basis.

The explosions were numerous and Baki was pretty sure that this colony would be down for the count. Those things were tough, but not that tough.

When it was all over, Kankuro was yelling victoriously while Naruto cheered and threw a fist into the air. Gaara openly smirked, just the slightest hint of being smug showing through, and reminding Baki all too much of his father.

“Good job, you three. Let’s report back and see if we can try to wrangle another mission out, if any is available.”

The team reported back and found out, as usual, there was a lack of missions. And, as usual, they weren’t going to be paid for this type of mission, as it was considered a service to the village.

Though the three grumbled about it, not too much considering Naruto understood and so did Kankuro and Gaara (especially being it was their father and they knew up close and personal), the team decided they’d have a celebratory meal together for their successful mission and for being an “awesome team” (in the words of Kankuro).

Baki just sighed and finally gave in to the urge to massage his head.

He trekked up further, to where he knew was Nagi’s office, and waved off the secretary as he unceremoniously entered Nagi’s office. He shut the door behind him loudly and then trudged to the seat in front of the Kazekage’s desk, slumping in the chair.

“I hate you, Nagi. Completely.”

The red-haired man raised an eyebrow at his friend, wondering what was wrong now.

“Liar. I _knew_ this team was going to be hell,” Baki grumbled.

Nagi’s eyes lit up and he leaned forward in his chair eagerly. He wanted any news he could get about the team, particularly in regards to Naruto and how she was. He wanted desperately to know the lost girl he’d been looking for all these years, and see if there was anything he could do to make it up to her and her late mother for not being able to be there and help her out like he was supposed to. If anything, he was still upset that he hadn’t been able to live up to the promise he’d made to his friend all that time ago, and was hoping that maybe he’d be able to start now.

“Well? Come on now, Baki. Tell me all about it. Tell me about the team, how Gaara is managing in the team, if Kankuro is alright with the arrangement…if Naruto is fitting in…”

Baki didn’t notice Nagi’s hesitation at the end, and had instead groaned and pinched the bridge of his nose as he lay back in the chair. But he did tell Nagi everything he’d asked about, particularly how Gaara was actually getting along well and that Kankuro was as boisterous as ever, though even he seemed to not mind the team or the new team member as much as he had before when first learning about her. Naruto was doing just fine and fit seamlessly into the team, and had even gotten them to work a solution to successfully complete their first D-rank. And then he reiterated from the beginning everything that had happened, detailing more about his first meeting with Naruto, up to the end where the team had actually amiably left for a group meal.

But Nagi, for some reason, still didn’t seem satisfied.

He was beyond thrilled that the team had worked out, and even more so was a natural fit and looking to eventually be a tight-nit group. He was happy his sons were doing well, and happier still that Naruto seemed to get along and like his sons well enough.

But he wanted to know more.

After managing to get Baki out, he stared at what was left of his paperwork. He frowned and glanced out of his window, before coming to a decision. He pushed aside what little he had left to do tomorrow, and cut his time there early. Surprising his secretary when he left through his door before the usual time, he told her he was leaving early and that she could leave as well. He took a detour home and shoved off his kage robes, stuffing his hat somewhere where he didn’t have to look at it, and looked at himself in the mirror.

He straightened out his outfit and ran a hand through his wine-red colored hair, and bit his lips nervously.

_‘Okay, Kushina. Here I go.’_

He thought it would be best to seek her out himself, and hopefully get to know her or at least find out for himself how she was doing. Even if he couldn’t get her to leave her current life and just go on to what he had been hoping to offer and help her out, he could at least know where she lived and keep tabs on her in hopes to make sure she was doing okay and she didn’t get into trouble.

But he was going to meet her under the guise of a regular shinobi. He wasn’t too sure she would be too comfortable or would be shocked that the Kazekage was personally inquiring after her, and might even be bothered or worried about it. It would probably be easier to get her to talk to him if he was just a normal jounin or something.

Thanks to his veil, his face wasn’t as widely recognizable as it used to be, especially amongst younger generations. That is to say, that there wouldn’t not be some record of it anywhere, or that people could still probably know him anyway…but time passing and his rare traveling outside made it less possible to know him from the next person. It probably didn’t help that when on duty and working, he usually wore his kage outfit without fail, while he was keen on and preferred to go around the village as himself and in regular clothing.

So this made a perfect opportunity.

He would only need to locate her, and he was able to actually rather quickly. She was sitting at a noodle bar, chatting quietly to the cook. She looked even prettier in person, and seemed lively and animated as she talked. She was wearing similar clothing to him, aside from that dark orange sash around her waist that Baki harped about to him earlier, and he once again remarked that her eyes looked like sapphires.

Between Minato, Kushina, and Karura, he could admit they were right that he liked to put value into things, and that comparisons to precious gems was almost habitual. He wasn’t even going to comment on the fact he drew likeness from her hair to gold, as he knew gold would just be yet another too precious a material he got caught up in, especially what with his Gold Dust (and he could hear Minato remarking that it would be a point of narcissism for Nagi, and the ensuing snickering he would have endured from them all about this whole thing).

He strode forward quickly and took a seat beside her, ordering quickly. At the height of nervousness, a thing he acknowledged he hadn’t really felt in years, Nagi realized that he didn’t know how the hell he was going to approach her.

“Hi there,” she kindly greeted him.

Well, that took care of that.

Inwardly relieved, he gave her a strangely carefree smile (something he’d not done in years either).

“Hello,” he gave a casual, lazy two-figured salute from the hand that was against the side of his face and what he’d been leaning his head against, as he propped his elbow on the counter.

“I haven’t seen you here before,” she noted curiously. “Are you new?”

“Isn’t it polite to introduce oneself first, before asking questions?” he smirked, and it surprised him so much that he almost straightened and gave away his surprise of himself outwardly.

She flushed red slightly, before grinning. “My bad, my bad. I’m Uzumaki Naruto!”

“I’m…T-Tenoh,” he hesitantly said, avoiding his actual name for the time being.

“Well, Tenoh, it‘s nice to meet you,” she grinned impishly.

A genuine smile crossed his face.

“It’s…nice to meet you too, Naruto-san.”

Started 4/28/13 – Completed 4/28/13


	6. The Pitfalls of Teamwork

She was _fascinating_.

He had never met anyone like her. She was bright and lovely, and she was like a personified sun. They talked of nonsensical things, and it boggled his mind because he can’t remember the last time he’d had a conversation for the sake of conversation. She spouted information about herself without care that as a shinobi, she shouldn’t be so free with information about herself (especially with a person she’d just met, like she just had with Nagi).

He wriggled droplets of information that he could get about her, small little tidbits he wanted so he could continue to form a larger picture of her and who she was in his head. She was a ramen lover, with an addiction to miso. Orange “rocked” because everything about the color associated with her. It was her favorite color, however the truth was that dark shades of red were actually her favorite because she’d heard the Kazekage’s hair was some shade of red that was dark (and that baffled him because he had _no_ idea what he had to do with anything with that, especially given that she didn’t even know he was the Kazekage).

She liked to snack on oranges and cooked with a lot of rosemary, hence why her smell was a mix of the two. She rapidly spoke about her favorites to him, any and all, without any caution, and interrogated him about his in return (and it really did feel like an interrogation).

He had been a bit shell shocked from the experience at first.

And then she’d changed suddenly, acting demure as she smiled softly and looked at him from under her eyelashes, one of her hands elegantly placed across her chest as she bowed slightly. She thanked him formally and then she was gone.

Then he realized she’d also left him to pay for her food.

He had been left flabbergasted, caught off guard, and yet also very amused and entertained about the whole thing. She was much more than he’d expected, or really she was absolutely nothing at all from what he’d expected. In fact, she’d been far beyond anything he’d been able to come up with in his mind, even with Baki’s meager offerings.

The next day, he resolved to make a better impression and hold out, and wasn’t about to let her get yet another upper hand on him. After all, he was absolutely fascinated with the person Naruto had become, and admitted he was looking forward to seeing how she’d grow, along with her team.

So, knowing her love for ramen, he took a chance on visiting the noodle bar she’d been eating before, when it was time for breakfast. He had managed to leave a note at his secretary’s desk that he was going to be late getting to work, and had headed straight to here afterward. His patience paid off as he saw her almost pouting as she slunk towards the restaurant, and he wondered what had happened to make her feel upset, frowning as he pondered that.

“Hey there,” he called out, and gave a slight wave of his fingers.

She saw him and perked up slightly, smiling a little as she took a seat next to him. She made her order and then turned to him, smile widening just a little more.

“Hey you, that wasn’t nice last time,” he scoffed, though he was still smiling and showing he wasn’t too bothered.

“I’m quite sorry,” she said quietly, reaching out and gently tilting his chin up with the tips of her fingers. “At least I’d managed to thank you prior, and it was meant also for your lovely company.”

He blinked.

Cockily, he swiped her hand away from him and in a single move had turned it into a firm grip that he had no intention of letting go, as he pulled away from her and outstretched to their side. He smirked and lifted an eyebrow.

“No princely-ness, thank you very much,” he drawled, and her eyes widened and she was awkward for a second before becoming sheepish.

“Eheh, alright. Sorry about that,” even her grin was sheepish.

He allowed her to pull her hand away from his and reach for some chopsticks. He was sure she wasn’t used to someone not reacting to that exact “prince aura” she’d cultivated. He was probably the first and only, and he was surprised to find a shot of smugness shoot through him, along with a strong urge to milk that advantage for all its worth.

“So what had you so down just a little while ago?” he finally got to question.

She went back to pouting and had dejectedly pried apart the chopsticks before answering. “Ah, well, you see –I missed seeing the Kazekage this morning.”

Though Nagi had finally gotten himself collected when interacting with her, he had still become close to choking on the tea he’d been drinking at her admittance.

“How’d you know you missed him?” he asked, masking his discomfort, as well as his uneasiness about talking about himself separately.

She sighed. “I have a direct view to his office from where I live. Every morning, I usually catch a glimpse of him before I leave my apartment. He wasn’t there this morning.”

Nagi just barely stopped himself from choking from yet another sip of tea.

“Ah…he…he must’ve…woken up late,” he finished lamely. “Why would…you bother trying to see him in the morning?”

She laughed in embarrassment, scratching the back of her head. “Er, well you see, when I got transferred into the apartment from the orphanage, it was really rough at first. But then I noticed that every morning, Kazekage-sama would always appear in his office in the morning at a certain time. And after a while…I guess I took comfort from seeing him and his routine in the morning, as well as how I could always count on him being there every morning and at that time.”

Nagi felt rather faint and embarrassed, and he was sure that there must’ve been a slight tint of red on his cheeks. That said, he made a mental note to appear in his office first, before going to meet Naruto for breakfast next time…

Afterwards, they managed to hold a light conversation, and Nagi made full use of his newfound power to not only resist her charm, but also turn it back on her and make her as flustered as possible. It was payback for last time (and all those poor souls who regularly succumb to it).

“Don’t worry, _mikan-hime_ ,” he finger poked her forehead. “I’ll pay for your meal.”

She turned red in embarrassment, at the same time as she sputtered about her new nickname, and he couldn’t help inwardly letting loose an out of character evil chuckle.

“Do you eat here every morning?” he asked suddenly and she nodded, curious. “I’ll meet you here tomorrow as well then. I think I’ve really come to like noodles.”

She beamed at him in excitement and cheer, and he felt a sense of accomplishment for some reason. He carelessly leaned back against the counter and lazily made a shooing motion towards her, smirking all the while.

“Go on now, mikan-hime. You’ll be late to your team meeting.”

Her sapphire blue eyes widened and she stuttered out a thanks and a bye as she raced out of there, and he allowed himself to chuckle aloud to himself. A loud thud startled him, and he turned slightly to see the owner of the noodle bar, and who had also made the noise by placing a new cup of tea beside him.

“Your second cup, Kazekage-sama,” the owner said blithely, though his eyes was laughing.

Nagi coughed slightly and straightened up, knowing that his face was probably only just a little better than Naruto’s had been before she’d left.

“T-thanks, Kazuhiro-san,” he recognized the retired shinobi.

Kazuhiro waved him off, going back to making more noodles.

“…She comes at dinnertime every once and awhile too,” he said sardonically.

Nagi’s face heated up exponentially and he hid his face behind a hand.

“That’s enough out of you, Kazuhiro-san…”

Meanwhile, back in his home, chaotic happenings were occurring as his kids were rushing to get ready for the day.

“I still can’t believe you didn’t tell me the Desert Prince was a _girl_!”

“Shut up, Kankuro! It’s your fault you assumed!”

There were a lot of doors banging around and lots of shouting, but Gaara ignored his siblings and continued to firmly press down on the flower.

“Gaara! Breakfast!” he calmly caught the mandarin orange thrown his way, not bothering to look out his door at his sister who’d peeked in and had thrown it.

“I thought we’re not allowed to eat them!”

“If you don’t tell, I won’t!”

Gaara pressed harder, and a particular loud and violent door slamming had an important picture frame on his wall tilting. He frowned as he glanced at it, now starting to feel a little irritable at his siblings. He reached out with his sand and fixed the framed preserved flower crown that had been given to him by an angel all that time ago.

An angel…

For so long, he’d always believed a real angel had given him the flower crown, even at times to this day. But…if he focused a bit…He’d always had trouble recalling her features, what with how young he was and plus it’s been years after the fact. The most he could remember are the colors of golden hair that looked like a halo, blue eyes as clear as the sky, and flowers everywhere. It was a bit disappointing and frustrating he couldn’t remember much more than that.

“Geez, Gaara. You done with the girly art yet? We gotta leave soon,” Kankuro peeked into his room.

The red head’s eye twitched.

His sand rushed forward and pushed Kankuro out of his room, and then slammed the door after his brother. Gaara took a deep breath and then went back to focusing on finishing on preserving his latest flower acquisition, also starting to eat his orange for a quick breakfast.

After that, he finally went to meet his grumbling and pouting older brother, and they walked out to the meeting point. Baki still wasn’t there, but Naruto was. She waved cheerily at them and Kankuro tossed her a mandarin orange. Gaara blinked, surprised that his brother had, especially given what it was and “who” those really belonged to.

“I remembered you said you liked oranges yesterday,” Kankuro grinned cheerfully. “Just don’t say anything to our dad, if you ever meet him. He loves those things.”

Gaara nodded in agreement, but he froze as his eyes alighted on Naruto more closely.

Blonde hair…blue eyes…the feeling of familiarity…

Could it be? Could Naruto really have been that little angel from long ago, that had given him his precious flower crown, who had helped him to learn and try to reach out to others and not be a monster?

He bit his lip, just barely holding back from saying something to her. It was a long time and he wasn’t even sure if she remembered it, or if she really was the angel (though he was most certainly feeling very certain about it). For now, he’d just keep back and observe.

Not too long after and their sensei finally made it to the scene, and he scrutinized them all closely.

“I’ll be evaluating your skills,” he said shortly. “So we’ll be going through the day, fine combing through you guys’ arsenal, become more familiar with each other’s skill set, and learn who’s good at what, who can supplement someone’s weakness, and at the same time what which area needs tweaking to overcome that weakness.”

“So serious, Baki-sensei,” Naruto said, ironically with a serious face and tone. “We got it.”

“Yeah! What she said,” Kankuro pumped a fist.

Baki sighed. “Alright, let’s get started on your taijutsu.”

Really. All he’d wanted was to find out what they can’t or can do that day. And what he got was a disaster.

All three of them sucked at taijutsu. Suck. Really suck. Naruto was at least average, but Kankuro was more interested in staying back and manipulating his puppets, while Gaara preferred to be laid-back and stationary (and worse than the Kazekage in the stationary fighting form –at least Baki remembered that Nagi was more than sufficient at taijutsu).

He watched them fight his clones in numb terror. Kankuro was running away from his, and when it caught up, the puppet user would fling out his arm and pathetically hit the clone once and then he’d be back to running away in panic. Gaara was staring his down, stoic face unblinking and refusing to move an inch from his spot (or at all –what the hell was Nagi doing? Did he just focus on stationary the entire time, damn it?). Gaara’s clone was looking in confusion between the boy and then him, unsure what to do since his opponent was refusing to fight back (or do much of anything, really).

Then there was Naruto. His female genin, who actually knew the Suna Academy brand of taijutsu…but everything was so _sloppy_ and _lazy_ and _mistake-ridden_! He could see what the reports from the Academy about her meant regarding her interests. He could definitely see how the scores and reports of the Academy came into play, as seen by how though she knew the stuff, it was far from mastered or even amounting to any level of good.

“Stop! Just stop!” he shut the taijutsu portion down quickly. He was hoping for a better run for genjutsu.

Their genjutsu skills were abysmal.

Naruto couldn’t find her way out an illusion even if it was staring her right in the face, Kankuro had no skill noticing or breaking out of one, and Gaara and genjutsu shouldn’t even be in a single sentence.

That is to say, after he’d cast a rather light one where they would be facing some kind of fantasy their heads randomly conjured up, Kankuro had immediately looked confused and was looking around in confusion and scratching the back of his head, heedless of his teammates or sensei. Naruto was strangely speaking to someone, having sat down on the ground with her legs crossed, and talking about “being late” and “blasted shrinking cookies.”

There was also something about a fluffy adorable rabbit, that looked like whom she was talking to currently, and who she kept asking if she “could pet his ears.”

He had nothing to say about Gaara, his rabid ranting, and the sand flying about everything…and something about birds attacking.

“Why are they doing this? Why are they doing this? They said when you got here the whole thing started. Who are you? What are you? Where did you come from? I think you’re the cause of all of this. I think you’re evil. EVIL!” Gaara roared and angrily attacked at nothing in the sky. “Hitchcock this, you bitches!”

Baki sweatdropped. Honestly, he’d initially thought that since birds are kind of natural enemies to raccoons, it was the reason why Gaara had gone off the deep end about birds of all things. That? Contradicts everything, and made him twitch and wonder if Nagi was off guiltily sneaking to watch Hitchcock movies at night and hiding from everyone…and also snickering and giggling about _The Birds_ as he watched that infernal movie again and again (all the while wondering the point of the movie and why the birds were freaking attacking).

“I…I…” he didn’t know how to stop this.

“Oh, off into the rabbit hole again?” he heard Naruto saying and then there was a huge hole in the ground and then she was preparing to jump into it and he was on the verge of a breakdown.

“I need Anbu,” he bemoaned.

Thankfully, as two of his genin were the Kazekage’s kids (with one as a jinchuuriki), there was a single squad keeping watch on them while they were in the village (though he’d actually forgotten about them). They silently appeared, and three separated to restrain Gaara and the other two went to stop Naruto from jumping into the hole. The last one stood on standby next to Kankuro, just in case the last member of ‘Team Kickass’ decided to do a riot act or something, all of a sudden.

When Baki looked, Gaara was still ranting about birds and trying to push the Anbu off of him, Kankuro was still standing still and confused (but not looking at any of them), and Naruto was pouting in the Anbu’s arms.

“Usagi-chan! Come back! Let go! I want the bunny! LET ME PET YOUR EARS!”

The Anbu successfully managed to dispel the genjutsu and Baki sagged in relief. The three genin looked around in confusion, more so at the Anbu around them, before turning to their sensei and looking at him questioningly.

He just groaned.

After that, the Anbu visibly stood aside and kept watch, and Baki wearily went on to the next thing.

Their ninjutsu was scattered. Gaara was proficient with his sand techniques…but they didn’t vary and he had nothing else. Kankuro was great with his puppets…but he only had his puppets. Naruto was a bit more promising on this front as well…if only because she was proficient and had other jutsu, such as Suna-brand Academy stuff (as well as the common E-ranks between all villages…that neither Gaara or Kankuro had bothered or cared to learn).

He watched tiredly as Naruto started to gleefully substitute with Kankuro’s puppets repeatedly, shunshined all around Gaara’s sand, and had been henged to look like him.

Baki never wanted to see how he looked like cackling madly ever again.

He depressingly watched Gaara perform his sand techniques…and then recycle back and perform them again. Sand burial…sand prison…sand shuriken…sand this, sand that…He should also probably be worried about Gaara’s rather obvious glee he went through, exacting his sand jutsu on Baki’s poor clone that he kept having to remake.

He had no idea how to respond to Kankuro, in boredom, making his puppets perform. And Baki meant performing. He wasn’t even sure where Kankuro even learned ventriloquism, or why the hell would “Ant” want “Crow’s ‘child.’”

He wasn’t even prepared to acknowledge that Kankuro was in the process of creating a soap opera with his puppets.

“Teamwork,” he slurred. “How about…how about teamwork, guys?” After all, they had all managed to work together on their first mission together, right after just meeting. This had to work.

They try teamwork training next and fall apart. Gaara was annoyingly stoic and hard to read, Kankuro was loud and had a huge ego, and Naruto was enviously and disgustingly so charming and smooth with people (and had a horrible ability to be able to talk circles around a person, and that person wouldn’t know or was unable to do anything about it).

“Hey, Gaara! Was that blink a signal to move right or left?”

“I got this, guys! Let me handle it –I’ve got this shit under control!”

“…”

Baki face palmed. When he looked up, he scrunched his eyebrows at seeing Naruto chatting with the Anbu for some reason, who looked hard to read anyway.

But then they were moving in sync with her the next moment, and firing off fitting and matching sequences.

“Baki-sensei! I got it! See? I’m doing teamwork!”

“Naruto!” he felt like tearing out his hair, even though he fully was aware he had none. “You’re supposed to do teamwork with _your_ team!”

“Oops! My bad.”

He didn’t even want to know how she had managed to convince the Anbu to work with her or even participate at all. _Smooth talker_ , that girl. Complete with silver tongue, deadly face, lethal eyes, and fatal smile.

“That’s it for today, Team,” he inwardly groaned. “Just…I don’t even know. _I don’t even know_.”

All three sheepishly looked at him as they huddled together, and he took a second to gather his thoughts. He told them exactly what he thought and had noted, and they winced.

“And I’m assigning homework,” he said firmly, and he gave Kankuro a look, quieting any protests before he could hear any begin. “Find a jutsu or something, whatever, and you get bonus points for learning it, or can even do it.”

After that, he slunk away in despair and found Nagi. He laid all the blame on the man, all the while drowning in his depression in front of his red-haired friend.

“This. It’s all your fault. _All of it_.”

Nagi just nodded along, staying awhile, before he glanced at the time and frowned to himself. Without alerting the other and allowing Baki to continue to rant and be miserable in his office, he successfully escaped his office after sneaking a note onto his secretary’s desk, and then made his way to the noodle bar.

With a grin, he jogged over and took his now usual seat beside her, and after some greetings and orders, was subjected to Naruto launching into her day and her version of everything, and mostly about poor “Baki-sensei.”

He snickered quietly at that.

Started 5/6/13 – Completed 5/6/13

 

_**Omake! (Or The Genjutsu Tales)** _

“Fu…Fu!”

The girl in question was crouched to the ground, parallel to it as she scurried around the area.

“Chomei, Mantis-sensei says I must be like the mantis to fight like the mantis,” Fu said patiently to someone, even though no one was around her closely. “Silly Chomei. Don’t be jealous of Mantis-sensei and say he’s not real. Or maybe not jealous~ Do you _like_ Mantis-sensei? But can mantis and beetles mate?”

“I don’t think the Seven-tails will appreciate that comment…”

Fu slowly got up and moved into a stance from the mantis and was swaying.

“No, Chomei! You’re so silly –this isn’t a genjutsu. Mantis-sensei is a better teacher than you, so you must be jealous! I won’t let you stop me! I must master Mantis-sensei’s teachings!”

“Should we stop this?”

“Yeah…I think this means she definitely failed genjutsu…”

“Yes, Mantis-sensei! _Be_ like the mantis…HOP like the mantis!”

With wrong timing, they dispelled the genjutsu at the same time as Fu leaped into the air and she crashed to the ground with a yelp.

“…I wonder if the other villages have so much trouble teaching their jinchuuriki genjutsu…”

Started 5/12/13 – Completed 5/12/13


	7. It Isn't Nice to Play With Your Rice

Gaara brooded as he sat in the kitchen, slumped onto the table with his chin resting against the wood, while he stared at the wall and his arms dangled at his sides. He didn’t know what he was going to do with Baki’s assignment, although Naruto’s suggestion at the earlier team brainstorming sounded tempting.

Well, he’d have to think about the semantics first…

Kankuro was having no luck either. He was, for the first time in his life, in a library. He’d randomly chosen books at first, but then when he more often than not ended up with a book totally unrelated (How many times was he going to pick a book about gardening?! It’s not like you could really garden in Suna anyway!), he decided to go to the inventory and try that way. Even if he had to try to decipher the damn thing…What was with all these numbers and letters and codes?!

Naruto was also trying her best to fulfill the homework, though she at least had something to work on. She was close to finally finishing the jutsu she’d been working on for the last three weeks, and decided that it would be a good idea to show it off the next day to her team. Maybe Nagi would like to see it too…

If only that blasted Hiraishin would bend to her will already!

However, whatever their choices and progress were, it would all have to be judged the next day –whether or not they managed to achieve anything.

And Baki was definitely hesitant, though his stern and unrelenting glare said nothing of it to the genin.

“All right! Show me what you’ve got,” he barked at them.

Kankuro cleared his throat and stepped forward to start first.

“So, uh, I was looking up stuff…somewhere…and I decided that working on kenjutsu might be good. ‘Cause I’m a puppet user and all, and that’s long range…so I guess I need some kind of back up if an enemy gets in close, right? And I guess…I could go from there and maybe learn Baki-sensei’s wind sword technique? I didn’t learn anything about it, and I definitely can’t do any kenjutsu stuff yet –so no bonus points, huh?”

Baki inwardly was relieved. Things were starting out normal thankfully. And Kankuro had made a smart choice and remembered his weakness, and Baki wouldn’t mind passing down his famed wind sword technique down.

“Good, good. Next, Gaara.”

Gaara stepped up and took a deep breath, and Baki tilted his head in curiosity. He guessed Gaara was going to go straight in to the demonstration then. That must mean he learned a jutsu, and if he’s performing it then it meant he can also do it.

“SAND MONSTER!”

It took a while for Baki to actually process the jutsu’s name and the sight of a huge towering sand blob thing rising up and moving about high above them, especially in combination with each other.

“G-Gaara, what…is that?” he forced out.

“It is a sand monster,” Gaara said, face completely stoic and voice serious. “On advice of my teammates, I made the features indistinct, so that it would not be confused with Shukaku.”

“…”

Baki really wasn’t sure what to say.

And in the Kazekage’s office, Nagi stared out of his window and gaped at the huge sand _thing_ that had appeared out of nowhere, wondering if he had to go subdue it –it wasn’t Shukaku as it didn’t feel like it, but it sensed vaguely of Gaara…

“How in the world did you come up with _that_?” Baki muttered, meaning to be rhetorical.

But Gaara answered anyway. Of course.

“We had a team meeting yesterday,” Gaara raised a nonexistent eyebrow, as if saying “duh” to him. “It was something like this –”

_“Okay, so what do you think we should do? He told us to look things up, see what interests us, find a random jutsu –bonus points if we learn about it and everything and more if we can actually perform it,” Naruto started. “Or create a jutsu –he did say Gaara needed more variety in his jutsu arsenal.”_

_Kankuro nodded. “Yeah, you only got a few of those specific sand jutsu that you use all the time. Dad taught you those, right? And he doesn’t have time to teach new things any more, but he does at least spar with you when he can, to make sure you stay sharp.”_

_“He has been really busy,” Gaara acknowledged. “I must come up with new stuff on my own.”_

_“I know! How about you create this huge Godzilla type monster with sand? It could be like the Shukaku when he goes free –”_

_“Only don’t make it look like Shukaku,” Kankuro hurriedly cut in, interrupting Naruto, though he was all for the idea._

_“Then…I will call it ‘Sand Monster,’” Gaara said decisively._

“I suggested Sandzilla, but Sand Monster works,” Kankuro said, when Gaara was done. “It’s as blunt as you can get with an attack, I bet.”

Baki stared at the three miscreants he was cursed with. And the name…

Damn the sand.

Suddenly the Anbu they were usually with appeared near them. Ready to attack at first, they soon faltered and then stared, tilting their heads.

“You guys are late,” Baki muttered irritably. “And it’s not the Shukaku, so stand down.”

But it seemed they’d already come to that conclusion and were watching the dubbed ‘Sand Monster’ moving around in fascination.

Baki sighed, before turning to his last genin. “Naruto, you next.”

Naruto grinned in excitement, and held out her hand as she concentrated. Suddenly, a rapidly spinning ball formed in her hand and she ran and slammed it forward into Gaara’s Sand Monster, blowing its lower half apart and making the rest slowly dissipate.

Kankuro whistled, looking suitably impressed. “Now that looked badass.”

Even Gaara looked intrigued.

Baki? Baki was staring in horror and silently freaking out, wondering when she had learned this jutsu-that-belonged-to-the-Fourth-of-another-village. He really, really hoped Konoha didn’t find out about this.

“That’s the Rasengan,” Naruto’s grin widened. And then she started pouting. “If only my progress with the Hiraishin was as good. Years now and I still haven’t managed anything! I bemoan my utter lack of progress and complete failure with the Hiraishin.”

While her two teammates moved closer in interest, asking about the two techniques, both Baki and even the Anbu stared at her and were shocked frozen. They were doomed…

“We…we have to get a D-rank…”

Meanwhile, Nagi was still staring out his window.

Their next D-rank was another no-profit, service to the village type, consisting of simple border patrol. While they were more sweeping through the inside of Suna, they did have to go around the edges of the village and even traversed the Gate.

In-village border patrol was boring though, and they had to find some way to keep themselves on track. So somehow they started cheerfully singing along to some song that Baki had no urge to ever hear again or even really know. Naruto and Kankuro even managed to coerce Gaara into singing along with them, though it seemed one thing the boy hadn’t inherited from Nagi was his singing voice –monotone singing was something Baki didn’t feel like hearing ever again either.

“…That shit makes me bat-shit crazy!”

Baki ignored the looks some shinobi were throwing their way, and steadfastly stared ahead.

“I got a fist full of fifties, tequila just hit me!”

He’d always considered himself loyal and sane. Right now, he was considering defecting to anywhere but staying in Suna with these lunatics, even if it meant going over to Konoha where rumors of shinobi being insane over there was rampant.

“We’re going ‘til the world stops turning, while we’re burning it to the ground tonight!”

Kankuro chortled. “This should be like our theme song or somethin’. We would totally own it –” he was cut off when he clumsily tripped on a stray weapon lying around, and fell over more weapons dangerously lying around the area as well. “Ah, _shit_!”

Baki frowned as he hurried over along with the other two, and knelt by Kankuro and examined the rather deep cut on the boy’s leg. He muttered a curse.

“We’ll have to report this mess here, but first we’ll have to take you back to get medical help at the hospital,” Baki said frowning. These weapons…damn guards around here were getting lazy…

“No need, sensei! I got this,” Naruto interjected.

Baki was about to decline when he blinked at the sight of her doing a hand sign and her hand suddenly glowing green. She leaned over Kankuro’s leg and began healing it.

“You know medical jutsu, Naruto?” he asked in surprise.

“Hm?” Naruto didn’t look over, still concentrating on healing her teammate. “Yeah. I’ve been studying it for years. Independent study, while occasional residency over at the hospital for more practical experience. Otherwise, I practice on injured animals. I’ve got a license for field medical application and some other stuff. Much more interesting stuff than the Academy.”

Much more interesting stuff than the Academy… _Of course_.

Baki was torn between sighing and massaging his head, or at least relieved at finding out some of what was wrong with this confounded girl’s Academy records and scores (he was trying to ignore how the Hiraishin was most probably one of the distractions).

“Ohhh, that feels good,” Kankuro sighed.

“My sand protects me well, but I will keep in mind if I ever get hurt to ask you for help,” Gaara said to her solemnly.

Baki was still processing it, amazed and impressed…but just the slightest irritated. Couldn’t she inform them of it earlier? Or rather…why didn’t she showcase _that_ rather than that blasted Rasengan?!

“Almost done? We should really finish this up. We also definitely have to report the lack of care and attentiveness in this area. This mass of weapons just carelessly left around is a danger, and also an invite to any intruder for free weapons,” Baki scowled disapprovingly.

“Yup, got it, Baki-sensei! Let’s go!”

The team trotted off, no longer singing but still humming. Baki settled for it.

Through the next two weeks, they’ve been doing more D-ranks, ranging from helping for the construction and/or reconstruction of buildings and places in the village that needed it for some reason, all the way to subduing local komodo dragons all around the village and setting them free into the desert.

They each even had their own favorites. Gaara actually liked the D-ranks in which they were sent out to eliminate Mongolian Death Worms that get too close to the village, seeing as he was able to use his new ‘Sand Monster’ jutsu on them. At those times, Kankuro and Naruto would sit back and watch the entertainment, while Baki would stand off to the side and start muttering to himself.

Kankuro liked the D-rank missions where they got to go to the greenhouses that specialized in poisons and assorted toxins, and got to harvest them for the Poisons department. Kankuro was allowed to keep samples, which was a huge bonus for him.

Likewise, Naruto liked the D-ranks into the greenhouses where they went harvesting (retrieval for certain ones) for herbs, plants, and spices. She got to keep samples too, which would help with her cooking, her own little garden, and add to the collection of plants she kept around her home. Though the practically daily D-rank of silkworm hunting to help Suna silk makers continue to produce silk was almost equally liked for her, considering she sometimes got samples and even full cloths of silk.

All three agreed that their least liked D-rank consisted of capturing Taricha newts in Suna homes, clearing the homes and transferring the little pests to the Poison department.

Not even being able to visit the Poison department cheered up Kankuro, for those pests were irritatingly hard to catch. They were small, fast, and numerous. And you had to make sure you didn’t get bit, because they were all bloody poisonous! Needless to say, they were highly disgruntled every time they received that mission.

But after all that hard work, they were finally being paid off. They were finally getting a C-rank.

Baki informed them right after a quick and light team training, and together they headed to the missions office, where they were surprised to see the Kazekage in full kage regalia at the head desk, handing out the missions that day.

He wasn’t sure if he saw right, but Naruto was suddenly very quiet and looking down every so often. And was that a light blush on her face?

It must be his imagination.

He turned to Nagi, who also seemed oddly staring in the direction of Naruto, and inwardly rolled his eyes at the ridiculous veil the man had taken to wearing (apparently it was a stupid tradition amongst each Kazekage to start wearing it practically full time by their tenth year in office). But he hesitated, not wanting to request the mission after all.

“Well?” Nagi asked, voice sounding off and a little too deep.

He scrunched up his eyebrows and stared at Nagi, who didn’t move and reveal anything. Gaara and Kankuro also seemed to be staring at their father strangely, though Naruto looked like she was listening intently.

Baki took a deep breath. “Team…” he paused. “Kickass,” he deadpanned (his eyes narrowed when he saw just the slightest twitch of Nagi’s fingers, showing the man’s amusement), “requesting a C-rank. The bare minimum requirement of D-ranks has been fulfilled, and each of the team individually and together can handle themselves.”

“I see,” Nagi was still speaking strangely. “I concede then. Here,” he tossed the mission scroll at Baki. “You are to retrieve a shipment for one of our merchants in the Land of Rice. He wishes for it to preferably reach him by the end of the week, so speed is of utmost importance. Leave at once.”

They shuffled out of there as quickly as they could, while being respectable at the same time (though Naruto had glanced back quickly). Baki had them get their things in order and to meet at the gate, to which Naruto was quick to head to already. She carried an emergency pack with her at all times, sealed somewhere on her person. It was very convenient and…admittedly lazy of her, but hey! It works.

The team soon met and then they were traveling out through the desert, going farther than they’d ever had before. The excitement of their first C-rank and going out of Suna and into foreign land quickly died down as they continued their long trek through the hot sands of the desert, with the sun baring down on them. Even though they traveled quickly at ninja speed, it was still a hard task going through the hot and dry desert.

They were very thankful when they managed to finally cross the entire desert and reach the Land of Rivers. Baki decided to stop there briefly, before moving quickly through the land and at least made it halfway through the Land of Fire. They were a little too close to Konoha for Baki’s liking, but they kept to the edges of the land and did their best to keep out of the way and out of sight, while not being too hidden to look suspicious or threatening. No mishap happened their way, and they managed to get to the Land of Rice in record time.

It was very easy to retrieve the shipment they were assigned to get…it was just such a massive supply that they couldn’t carry it all by themselves and all at once back to Suna. It would require several trips. Baki grunted in annoyance and grumbled in his head about cheap and bastard merchants.

“This should be easy,” Naruto said, looking at the shipment.

Everyone else stared at her.

“If you didn’t notice, Naruto, that is a _big_ shipment,” Kankuro said incredulously.

Naruto shrugged. “No prob.”

She took a small scroll from her pouch and out popped another scroll. Biting her thumb, she swiped it across her pouch itself, and an ink brush and inkwell popped out.

“Yosh! Let’s do this!” and then she whipped the scroll out, and while it was fanning out in the air, used her other hand that held the ink brush to snap off the inkwell’s top, splashing the brush into it and then tossing the inkwell into the air. Within moments, while one hand gripped the end of the scroll and flung it straight out again, she began writing rapidly on the blank scroll. Various symbols were being written that no one, not even Baki (no matter how much he recognized the art) understood.

When she was done, she tossed the scroll and it landed perfectly flat on the ground before the shipment, and she flicked the brush, getting rid of the ink on it simply. The inkwell in the air fell back down and was caught within moments, the cover calmly being replaced onto it.

“You know fuuinjutsu?” Baki asked, shocked.

Naruto blinked. “Yeah.”

“You didn’t mention this why?” Baki stared at her.

She shrugged. “You never asked.”

Baki decided then and there that he was just going to ask all three of them what they were able to do, since apparently the standard general testing couldn’t be applied to this crazy bunch.

Naruto charged up the scroll and the seals on it lit up, and then each one of them began transferring the boxes from their spot to the scroll. It made life intensely easier. Thoroughly pleased, Baki had them sit in a bar restaurant as he went to look for a place to stay for the night. They’d made good time and the mission had been completed successfully and without trouble, even made easier with Naruto’s sealed scroll. A night break and at somewhere nice could be spared. They’d deserved it.

“I’m kinda hungry,” Kankuro mentioned, sitting at the table. He glanced at the menu.

“Me too,” Naruto agreed.

Gaara nodded, and so it was decided that they’d eat something while they waited for Baki to come. And then Kankuro saw something that made his eyes light up.

“Hey, guys! Look! Alcohol served to minors if proven ninja. Headbands must be presented,” he read aloud. “Hell yeah! Let’s order something.”

Gaara looked hesitant, but Naruto was a little interested and curious. Each of them got their hitai-ate and wrapped it more visibly on their foreheads. Their waiter came around and they ordered their food, before they looked at each other. Naruto shoved up the courage and faced the waiter, ordering three bottles of their finest saké.

“No alcohol served to minors,” he drawled.

Naruto frowned and was about to use her “Prince-ly aura,” as Tenoh had dubbed it, when Kankuro cut in and pointed at his headband.

“Yeah, what do you think we are?”

The waiter looked at them skeptically, but Gaara had some of his sand creep up in front of the waiter and stared him down at the same time. The waiter shivered and wrote down the order.

“Sheesh, ninja are young these days,” the waiter muttered as he rushed away.

“Psh, he should’ve seen the last war. Jounin at 6, 7,” Kankuro huffed. “We’re average.”

Their order came soon enough. They ate their snacks quickly and then they looked at each other hesitantly before they tried their drinks.

Let it not be said that chaos could not happen on a supposedly peaceful night.

The three were very lightweight drinkers, and could not hold their drinks at all. Gaara had quickly descended into a dazed stupor, mumbling incoherently. Kankuro was embarrassing, having shuffled to the front of the room and taken advantage of the microphone used to call out the night’s lucky numbers for gamblers, singing drunkenly into it and keeping everyone who tried to stop him back with Crow. Kankuro apparently liked to sing. A lot. Like a lot, a lot.

Naruto had gotten people listening to her, and were riling them up and having them up in arms for some reason or other. And then, while Gaara sat there in his stupor and Kankuro sang without care, Naruto had led the assembly outside. It wasn’t long until she was inciting anarchy and the town was ablaze with mad furor. The mayor, who everyone seemed to severely dislike, was dragged out of his home, hogtied and left in the town square, where Naruto stood and continued preaching about freedom from oppression and having apparently taken over the town, as others began calling her “Miss Mayor.”

Baki actually didn’t know how things got to this point.

When he finally found a place he liked and was reasonably priced, he had gone outside to see the craziness abound. He’d hurried to the bar restaurant and was horrified to find the state two of his genin were in. He stalked over to Gaara first and dragged him after him, going over to the still singing drunkenly Kankuro, before dragging them out.

“I still wanted to sing,” Kankuro whined.

“You were out of tune anyway,” Baki snapped.

“Ngh,” Gaara started forming a sphere of sand around his head. “Too loud,” was the first coherent and understandable words he had said since Gaara had first started drinking.

Baki cursed aloud and looked around for his last wayward genin. To see her leading the chaos of the crowd outside was the topping, especially given that the town seemed to have decided they wanted her as their new leader. He rushed over to her.

“No way in hell!” he screamed, grabbing her and rushing back through the crowd.

Without delay, he took his genin, hightailed the hell out of there (before they could cause any more problems and/or be caught), and tried to pretend nothing happened.

They had made it quite a bit of miles away from the town in which the people were taking Naruto’s advice and taking control, before Baki finally slowed down and thought to do a quick look over on the three to see their overall state.

He stared at the miraculously still burning torch in Naruto’s hand.

“Get rid of that,” he said flatly, and then began to lead the way in the direction back to Suna. The other two followed him dazedly, though no one could understand how Gaara was walking with that sand sphere around his head.

Naruto looked at the torch before shrugging, tossing it to the side. She stumbled after the others.

The torch hit and landed on the rice field nearby, and it quickly caught on fire. It spread rapidly until it reached a certain newly formed and really _hidden_ Hidden Village.

“WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED?!”

Unknowingly, Naruto had burnt down a part of Otogakure on the way out of there. Orochimaru was not happy.

* * *

 

Nagi had been…amused at the homework assignment Baki had given the genin. More so when Baki had come to him with the results, and he finally learned what the hell that sand thing in his village that day was.

On the other hand, Naruto’s mastery of the Rasengan was a problem in more ways than one. He did not want Konoha to catch wind of it (and by extension Naruto). And well, no one knew of her in Suna either, and that was a jutsu that might bring up questions that should be kept quiet for now. He had not said anything about her heritage to anyone, not even Baki (who knew only that she’d been the Naruto Nagi had been looking for, for the past years). There were definitely spies around, and he was only lucky that things had been kept quiet.

And the Hiraishin…given her statements and eagerness to complete it…

He winced with the thought that Iwa would be even faster than Konoha.

He _had_ been ecstatic to know she’d been learning medical jutsu, and that it was most probably at least one of the reasons why her history in the Academy was so bad compared to the usual standards. He’d been guilty of it himself, when he was an Academy student, preferring to focus on wind jutsu and his wind mastery rather than focus in class.

The past two weeks had been a whirlwind of information, compounded by Baki’s reports and expanded as he talked to Naruto himself. The missions each of them enjoyed, and especially hers –he guiltily admitted that he tended to save the silk and herbal/plant/spice greenhouse missions for their team, after finding out she liked those best. He even encouraged the sample giving, especially as Naruto had taken to bringing him a little sample of the snacks she made, which she liked experimenting herbs and spices with, every time they met in the morning.

He learned other things about her. Two weeks passed by quickly, but was still in reality a large amount of time. And they’d met _every_ morning (he refrained from checking at night, seeing as he thought that would make things too obvious and/or uncomfortable for her). She was still under the impression he was someone named Tenoh, he was a jounin of the village, and that he was currently “off duty” since he didn’t seem to be taking any missions and was around a lot.

She’d grown familiar with him, and comfortable –much to his satisfaction. Between learning about her missions and what had happened in them, she’d also begun to talk about her life before becoming a genin. It was all little tidbits for now, but it was good progress and it was still quite a lot and valuable to him.

And now “Team Kickass” was on their first C-rank.

When Baki had first approached him about that, he’d been hesitant. Eventually he’d agreed, and had decided to go to the missions office himself that day, and choose and hand their first C-rank personally. His eyes had immediately gone drawn over to her, though he did glance over carefully over his two sons after before going back to her. Curiously, she’d changed from her usual bright personality to being rather shy, and he realized immediately it was at the sight of him.

He’d wanted to scratch his head awkwardly and fidget, still not sure how to take that he was apparently really important to her.

He had also purposely changed his voice so that she wouldn’t recognize “Tenoh,” though he knew that aside from her that the other three were confused with him.

Speaking about that C-rank, they would be returning soon, if things went well. He wondered how it went and looked forward to Naruto’s retelling of it.

Started 5/19/13 – Completed 5/19/13

 

_**Omake! (The Genjutsu Tales: Part II)** _

The bubbles floating around were numerous. The Kiri shinobi at the edge of the bubble minefield twitched and drops of sweat dripped down their brow.

“Shit…Utakata is in the middle of all that…”

“There’s no way to get to him.”

They thought they would try to get him under a genjutsu, which both of them excelled at. They hadn’t thought it would work, seeing as Utakata was a jinchuuriki and actually had good control over his tailed beast.

But it had, seeing as the missing-nin was quietly on the lone rock in the area, blowing bubbles calmly as he stared at the sky while he laid on his back. And yet they also knew about _his_ bubbles…

“…Bubble Land…” Utakata suddenly murmured. “So pretty~”

They still managed to sweatdrop.

A rather young girl on the other side of the field of bubbles stared at Utakata, before scrunching up her nose and sighing. She carefully danced through the minefield of bubbles and reached the lone man on the rock, who blew another round of bubbles. She huffed and plucked the bubble blower out of his hand and plopped by the rock, pouting.

“Master –”

“Don’t call me that.”

She twitched. “Fine. I’m not breaking you out of that genjutsu until you become my master. I hope Saiken doesn’t break you out either!”

“Look~ It’s so pretty…”

She growled under her breath.

The Kiri-nin saw what she’d done, and decided that since a little girl had managed to get through the danger field of bubbles, there was no way they couldn’t either. So they tried their hand at it.

And promptly walked into a wall of bubbles.

Needless to say, dying by bubbles was not what they had in mind.

Started 5/20/13 – Completed 5/20/13


	8. When the Wolves Come Howlin'

Nagi wasn’t sure whether or not to qualify the mission as a success once Naruto had retold the whole thing to him.

Since they’d arrived in the night, the official report would be in the morning. And since he sensed them coming, he quickly headed to the noodle bar, despite it being closer to dinnertime. As he hesitantly predicted, Naruto headed straight there. Though happy to see each other, he hadn’t expected the story that would come out of her mouth.

Dear Kami, _a_ _full-on riot in another country_?

Not to mention that apparently his two sons were huge lightweights, with Kankuro being a karaoke drunk while Gaara was a dazed drunk. Where was Baki in all this? How had all that come to happen? And don’t even get him started on how all three of them had their first taste of alcohol, never mind how bad it went.

Kazuhiro seemed to be sharing his disbelieving reaction, unable to scoop up an order of noodles into a bowl.

He cleared his throat. “I…That is…very eventful for your first C-rank,” he said lamely.

And fuuinjutsu! She freakin’ knew _Sealing_. He didn’t know whether to be impressed or despair. Besides that, it was definitely a sign she was Minato and Kushina’s kid.

The mission had been completed and successfully…but the aftermath was just nasty. At least nothing was linked to them, and no news of some sort of repercussions was heading their way. At least not yet.

But yet that torch Naruto threw…He had a bad feeling about it…

“Oh, Tenoh, do you wanna see the Rasengan I was talking about?” she asked him.

Bingo. That was his opening.

He ignored Kazuhiro choking on his breath yet again.

“Sure, mikan-hime. Show me what you’ve got,” he smirked at her.

She smirked back and grabbed his hand, practically shooting out of there with him only barely able to fling money onto the counter for their food. She headed straight to her team’s usual training spot, stopping and turning to him with a grin.

“Watch, watch!” she said excitedly, and then she held out her hand and concentrated, within seconds forming a familiar spinning ball.

He inwardly winced. Yup. Definitely Minato’s Rasengan. They must’ve left her with some things somehow, and she managed to learn (or was in the process of learning) them in the years she’d been living in Suna.

“I hear you’ve been trying to learn the Hiraishin too, while you’re at it,” he laughed lightly, with his face and body lax and nonchalant. He put his hands into his pockets and gazed at her.

“Yeah, how’d you know? I think I remember mentioning the Rasengan to you when I was talking about that day with Baki-sensei, but I don’t remember if I said anything about Hiraishin,” she tilted her head inquisitively.

 _‘Cute,’_ he thought suddenly. He mentally shook his head and focused back on the problem. With a quick rush, he was suddenly by her side without any warning, tilting her head back and the point of a kunai at her neck without her noticing or seeing anything. Her eyes were wide as she stared at him.

“T-Tenoh, what are you doing?” she asked hesitantly.

He grimaced and gave her a remorseful smile, turning the kunai around and gently tapping the ring of the handle against her forehead, before letting her head go and taking a step back.

“I would say you’re not _that_ good enough to warn off foreign assassins,” he tilted the corner of his lips wryly briefly. “I would suggest you not advertise your ability to use the Rasengan, an infamous jutsu of a rival village’s kage, nor the ambition to conquer the Hiraishin, a notorious jutsu in itself without any of the associations with it. Especially with your looks,” he said seriously, hinting at the end.

She visibly deflated, but nodded.

“Perhaps if it’s a life or death situation, and it’s best to have your teammates around for support,” he continued gently. “Otherwise, Naruto-san, keep it secret for now.”

Naruto sighed and gave him a pout, but she looked resigned. Abruptly, her demeanor changed and she’d straightened up and gave a small smile to him. It wasn’t her “Prince-ly aura,” as he’d come to call it…She was just much more serious than he was accustomed to. It was the most alarming and an uneasy reminder of a certain sannin, who liked being carefree most of the time, but could flip on the serious switch when he chose to or needed to be…

“Hai, I got it, Tenoh. Thanks.”

“You’re welcome,” he was almost mumbling. “Head home now, you got it? It’s late. See you tomorrow.”

He watched her leave first, before sighing and running a hand through his hair. Well, a mess was possibly avoided. Only a spy of Jiraiya’s caliber would be able to find out about this, and he dreaded that confrontation.

He headed home, only to find his family gathered at the table and acting miserable. Gaara still look a little hung over though…

“What’s up with you three?” he said, startling them with his unnoticed entrance.

His daughter huffed and held up a letter.

“Opening my mail now, are you all?” he asked dryly, rolling his eyes as he took it from Temari.

“Sure, yeah, whatever,” Kankuro said dismissively, and he wasn’t sure if it was from still lingering effects of his hangover or Kankuro just being his usual impertinent self.

“That’s what you get,” Temari snapped at him, though she cautiously looked over to him. He refrained from informing them that he already knew about the drinking and rash end of the mission, from their teammate no less. Besides, no one was supposed to know he was in close contact with her anyway. “Ah, Otou-san…it’s from the Capital…that Daimyo pig,” she scrunched up her nose in disdain.

Nagi scowled and stiffened, quieting and ignoring his kids as he focused on the letter. He grimaced at the order for him to come to the Wind Capital, and he crumpled the letter up and practically stomped over to the sink, throwing the crumpled up paper into it and then turning on the faucet.

 _‘Drown, drown, drown,’_ he thought viciously. Of course it was just a letter, but it could substitute in his thoughts for a certain person. He turned to his kids and agitatedly informed them of the news, which caused them all to further be miserable.

“Kankuro, Gaara, your team will accompany me to the Capital. Temari, I will leave you to help head the security around here, alright?” and then he headed towards the table, took a chair next to Gaara and slumped tiredly in it.

This was such a mess. Already, he missed the soothing presence of Naruto and how things felt so much more simple and lively, and he regretted having dismissed himself from her so quickly.

If there was anyone he really hated in the world, it was the Wind Daimyo.

The thought didn’t leave his head as the week passed and it neared the time to depart for their Capital. Team Kickass went through several more of the usual D-ranks, and thankfully a few more C-ranks that were uneventful and rather calm. And then they were all meeting at the village’s Gate, where Nagi formed a shadow clone –a trick that Minato had sent his way as a gift a long time ago. His clone was dressed up in his Kazekage robes, while he was there in his normal clothes.

This was going to be tricky. He’d have to rely on the others not blurting anything out and going along with him at first glance, while maintaining his own cover. He would have to tell her the truth soon…

He waited just the right amount of time, as his timed entrance allowed himself and his clone to be there first and look normal. Team Kickass came in practically vibrating, while Baki was grumpily trailing behind. They stopped when they saw him and his clone, all four backtracking (though three of them for much different reasons than the last one).

“Kazekage-sama,” Baki started hesitantly.

“This is Tenoh,” his Kazekage clone interrupted, speaking in the different tone he’d sorted for him for Naruto’s benefit. “He will accompany us as backup.”

His two sons and Baki stared at him. Then glanced at his clone. And then back to him.

Nagi just stared resolutely back.

Naruto gave him a small smile and a little wave, before turning back to the Kazekage with an attentive aura, again that odd shyness and quietness coming from her. Nagi shifted awkwardly at his spot.

“Let’s go,” his clone ordered.

They set out and went at a fast and silent pace. The three other males in the group were relentless in their confused but concentrated stares towards him. At the pace they set, they were at the Wind Capital in no time. In fact, much quicker than Team Kickass’ travel to the Land of Rice in their first C-rank.

And they were unfortunately met with the Wind Daimyo even more quicker than that.

In Naruto’s opinion, the man was a jackass. She didn’t like him at all and wasn’t impressed with him. She was usually a friendly girl and got along with everyone, but this guy rubbed her the wrong way and she _really_ didn’t like him. At all.

And then she _hated_ him when he acted condescending to the Kazekage and spoke down on him. She bristled angrily, like a furious feline, and had the urge to claw the man’s eyes out.

Naruto fumed quietly to herself, looking thunderous as she watched the proceedings. She made sure to blank out her face whenever attention was drawn her way, but she wasn’t happy about this at all. And she made sure to rant about it to Tenoh later, when she separated from her team and paced irritably in her assigned room. She was loud in expressing her displeasure about the Kazekage’s treatment at the hands of that “super jerky, greedy asshole of a waste dump trashcan born of human shit mated to horse shit.”

Tenoh stared strangely at her when she said that.

He also seemed strangely awkward too. She didn’t understand that, but she didn’t pry.

She growled angrily. “Kazekage-sama shouldn’t have to deal with the likes of that guy.”

Tenoh cleared his throat, scratching the back of his head. “He’d…he’d appreciate the support and your vehement defending of him. K-Kazekage-sama would probably be really grateful and thankful for your encouragement.”

She turned kind of quiet and gave him a shy grin. “Really?”

He blinked. “Uh…yeah.”

There was a loud knock on her door before Kankuro hollered out. “Yo! Naruto-chan, let us in, let us in!”

Naruto glanced in surprise at her door, but headed over and opened it as Tenoh shifted and averted his eyes every which way about. His kids ambled in, Gaara a lot more smoother than Kankuro. They stared in surprise at him, while Naruto closed the door, but he gave them a warning glance and they awkwardly looked away.

“Gaara, Kankuro, this is Tenoh. Tenoh, these are my teammates,” Naruto obliviously introduced them.

They stared at Tenoh. He stared back.

“Nice to meet you,” he said firmly.

Kankuro made a strangled sound in his throat, forcing out a confused smile.

“N-nice to meet you too, Tenoh-san.”

Gaara nodded at him, before pointedly looked at the floor to hide his own confusion.

“You know, we should practice something while we’re out here waiting,” Naruto suggested. “I need something to distract me and keep me busy, so that I can keep from snapping at Daimyo-baka.”

“Good idea,” Kankuro perked up. “I’m gonna ticker with my puppets. They need some fixing up and adjusting.”

“I will practice taijutsu katas,” Gaara said. “As been noted, my taijutsu has been lacking.”

Naruto unsealed a scroll from a leather bracelet previously unnoted by the others.

“I’m going to work on figuring out the Hiraishin,” Naruto announced. She smirked at Tenoh. “You never said I couldn’t keep working on it~” she sing-songed.

Tenoh grunted and waved a hand at her dismissively. “Do whatever you want,” he rolled his eyes.

So Naruto worked on the Hiraishin as everyone else worked on their respective stuff. Later on, there was yet another knock on the door, and Baki was the person on the other side this time. He, also, stared at Tenoh, who scowled at him.

“Hello, Baki-sensei. I’ve heard a lot about you from Naruto-san. I’m Tenoh. Pleased to meet you,” Tenoh smiled sweetly, too sweetly as he stared daggers at the other.

“Pleased to meet you, Tenoh-san,” Baki said dazedly.

“Eh, I think I’ll work on fuuinjutsu. Maybe it’ll help me unlock the Hiraishin anyway,” Naruto huffed.

That interested Tenoh, however, who came over and sat by her.

“I’m not an expert at fuuinjutsu, but I’ve always been interested in it,” he admitted, looking over what she was working on.

“I’m working on a sensor ‘rod,’” she told him. “If it works, it’ll be like how we can use chakra to pulse out and sense others, only this wouldn’t alert people when activated. I could leave it around an area that we’re scouting, use a single chakra paper the others would be linked to, and charge it with chakra to activate the others.”

His eyebrows nearly flew up. It sounded very impressive and useful. He couldn’t see how it could work, but then again he wasn’t a Sealing expert and this was probably beyond his current level of expertise.

So he just quietly sat by her, observing with a keen eye (even if most of it went over his head), and she would occasionally explain something to him.

He didn’t pay attention to Baki, who stared dumbly at him, his oldest twitching and trying to throw all his attention on his puppets and not end up blurting out all the questions he wanted to burst out with, or his youngest missing a part of the taijutsu kata he was working on again and again, because he kept getting distracted and glancing at the two of them.

* * *

 

Time was very slow as they stayed there. Nagi got a report from his clone every time he finished talking with the Daimyo (and he was preferring this method of dealing with the Lord of Wind much better, seeing as he didn’t have to deal with the man directly and be stuck in his presence for hours on end).

Really, all he was getting was the usual negotiations talk between the Capital and Suna, with of course Suna getting the shortest stick and getting shafted by their Daimyo. After that, he had to deal with complaints about everything, with only the complaints about guerilla attacks from a rebel faction peaking his interest. Meanwhile, he was preferring his time spent with his sons, Baki, and of course Naruto.

He only managed to extricate himself from the Daimyo when he was called away by the man’s equally aggravating wife. He finally tracked down Team Baki, where Naruto had literally made a practical army of clones, twenty marching stoutly on the walls of the large ballroom, ten on the pond outside, and various numbers either kunai balancing, something to do with a water bottle, and several other odd and even rare chakra exercises being performed.

“Yo, mikan-hime,” he gave her a two-finger salute, before freezing and looking over at the rest of her team. He coughed nervously and averted his eyes from their stares and gaping mouths, rubbing the back of his neck. He headed her way. “What’s with all the clones? And the chakra exercises?”

Never mind the fact she was using an extensive amount of shadow clones. He knew the consequences of the jutsu, and he definitely knew that the multiple clone version was deadly and no one could ever use it. That she was using it so massively was alarming and no short of impressive. He himself could only use the regular version, and make only six at that.

“My chakra control can end up like shit,” she said bluntly. “If I don’t keep up with the exercises, my control will degrade. And that’s a big no for medical jutsu too. So I do this regularly –maintaining helps to keep my chakra control from being sucky.”

“How’s the talks going?” Baki interrupted, and he barely refrained from sending over a glare at the other man.

“Horrible,” he said shortly. “He’s an ass, like always.”

Naruto growled. “Bothering Kazekage-sama again…why I oughta…” But then she switched gears, smiling mischievously. “Speaking of politics, did you know that…”

And dirty gossip spewed forth. He sweatdropped. Of all the different kinds of politics going on in the palace, she _would_ choose to focus on the dirty laundry…

There was a loud boom somewhere in the distance, and all three of them tensed and became alert. Nagi took charge.

“Baki, center point,” he barked out. “Team, spread out. After me!”

He hadn’t really thought that there would be any attacks while they were there, much less a direct attack on the Capital palace. Still, they were there and they were obligated to fix things, seeing as they were specifically this country’s militaristic force.

“Tenoh,” Naruto snuck by his side. “I got those chakra sensors ready.”

He blinked. “Already?”

He hadn’t even thought she could finish them at all, much less so quickly.

“Yeah. And I have them posted all over the palace.”

He almost stumbled. When did she have time to finish those things, create a bunch of them, and then post them all over the palace?!

“…Good. Activate them and tell me how many there are in the palace,” he ordered, focusing on leading the defense.

“220 palace staff, 35 royals with Kazekage-sama with the top of them, the five of us, and about twenty assailants.”

He had to backtrack mentally, though he almost did so literally. How in the world…

“Naruto-san…I know those things are supposed to sense chakra, so you can sense the number of people…similar to a chakra sensor pulse…but how can you _differentiate_?”

She shrugged nonchalantly, while her team looked resigned.

“No biggie. A few adjustments on the Seals should pulse out from the ones all over the palace to the Master Seal paper on me, and identify everyone’s chakra sigs. So I know who’s who, according to the chakra signatures category pulses I assigned to everyone meant to be in the palace that correspond to the matching Seal.”

Wait, what? That just blew his mind, from the concept and quick formation of the fuuinjutsu work to just the whole application right now.

And did this count as an account of “invasion of privacy?”

He shrugged in his head. She was a shinobi, and so long as she wasn’t caught…

“Right. We need to make sure they don’t escape either, so we should find the exits and blockade them first.”

“Handled~” Naruto sing-songed cheerfully. “My sensors have an additional Seal that’ll act with every one of the others together, and create a barrier and should focus on a certain chakra signature category, aka the enemy.”

This time he really did trip, and he regretted making such a clumsy move in front of his kids and Baki (and Naruto)…but this team…(more likely, this _girl_ )…

“That’s…just great,” he said weakly. “Why don’t you set that up quickly, and then we should all split up. Team Baki, go west. Baki, you take north. I’ll take south and east.”

They did so, and Nagi quickly ended up face to face with his enemy group. It was hardly a battle, considering the differences in level, but he frowned when he saw quite a few renegade jounin mixed in it. He’d expected only civilian opponents, so to have shinobi mixed in was quite troubling.

He made sure they were all incapacitated and tied up, before heading in the others’ direction. Doing his own chakra pulse to sense the others, and knowing who they were as he had _their_ chakra signatures memorized, he groaned as he realized the team had split up. It would be just his luck.

He wasn’t worried about Gaara; his youngest could take care of himself. Baki was near Kankuro, so he would be alright. Then there was Naruto…she was the one he was worried about and wasn’t sure would be alright facing a jounin on her own. He kept on her trail, and hurried when he felt a foreign signature near hers.

He came just in time to see a tall man slam Naruto against the wall, and hear a sickening crack of what he knew was her arm –the one the man was harshly holding against the wall by her head –breaking. Both of them looked roughed up, and signs of battle were clearly evident in the hallway. He was quite smug and proud to at least know that the foreign shinobi had been thoroughly challenged and fought against by his spitfire.

“I admire your tenacity and you’ve got quite the firepower at your age…but this ends here,” the man growled, and the sharp point of a kunai was placed against her throat, very similar to how Nagi had done so not too long ago.

Naruto’s sapphire blue eyes grew rather wide and fearful, an emotion Nagi knew was foreign to the girl and not something usually seen or displayed by her (or belong on her either). He was bizarrely angry and wasted no time speeding over and knocking out the shinobi, who crumpled to the floor between them.

She watched the action nervously, staring at the unconscious body on unsteady legs.

“So, when I mean life or death, I mean life or death,” he said suddenly, bringing her out of her fear-induced shock. “Rasengan his ass next time, won’t you?”

She smiled uneasily at him, but he just inwardly sighed and ruffled her hair.

“Don’t worry about it. He was jounin-level, and you _are_ still a genin. What did I say to you about that kind of thing?”

Naruto straightened up a little, feeling slightly better. “I’m good, but not that good?”

“Basically,” he drawled. “Now come on. Help me tie him up and drag him to where we can collect all the prisoners at.”

“Fine!” she then pumped a fist into the air. “But just you wait. I’m going to get training, and then I’ll be super awesome! I’ll even be able to kick the asses of jackasses like him easily next time.”

Nagi rolled his eyes at her.

* * *

 

Celebrations were under way. Nagi was astounded to find Naruto’s arm was already healing and almost back to normal, but nervously covered it up and put it into a splinter anyway. He contributed it to the Kyuubi, and decided that it was best no one noticed her rapid healing abilities in any case.

“Ah, Sabaku-san, I was hoping to have a word with you,” the Wind Daimyo’s wife purred coyly.

He inwardly groaned and winced. And here he thought he would be able to go through a visit to the Capital without having to deal with her…

She laid a hand firmly on his arm, leaning towards him and stepping into his space. He refrained from showing his displeasure outwardly, though he smiled stiffly and took a step back. She pouted, which looked ridiculous on her, though he began to think about someone else who tended to pout (but at least cutely).

“I was wondering if you could help me out in my quarters, Sabaku-san,” she continued to play coy. “I am in need of urgent help, and would very much like your assistance in this.”

His smile became even more forced. “I’m very sorry, Madame. I need to regroup with my team and see about securing the prisoners. I hope you can find help with someone available.”

She sighed in disappointment. “Oh very well. I’ll be off then. My idiot husband’s probably had better luck,” she muttered the last part, clearly not meaning for him to hear. “I’ll go entertain myself with your clone in the main room,” she told him irritably.

He almost asked her about it, but instead stopped himself and went to go find the Daimyo himself, to see what she meant. He would rather not have the Daimyo cause a scene or trouble with someone, and have yet another problem to deal with. And yet, a feeling of dread bothered him as he searched out the Wind Daimyo.

His blood went cold and an icy fury entered him as he came upon the Wind Daimyo cornering a scowling Naruto against the wall in a secluded room, roughly handling her injured arm against the wall above her head. It was nearly identical to the scene with the shinobi earlier, and further incensed him.

“Shh,” their Wind Daimyo murmured. “You don’t want to upset me, right? I can make things very difficult for your Kazekage-sama and for your village. Just do as I say. You are loyal and love your Kazekage and village very much, do you not? You don’t even have to say or do anything. Just keep still.”

A furious expression crossed her face, but then disappeared and she looked defeated, slumping against the wall. The Wind Daimyo smirked and leaned in, face too close for comfort, but seeing her look so defeated made Nagi snap and rush over, using a pressure point on the man’s neck to knock him out as Nagi squeezed harshly.

Similarly to earlier, the Wind Daimyo crumbled, and Naruto blinked up at him in confusion.

“T-Tenoh? What are you doing here?” she asked.

“Doesn’t matter,” he said shortly, glaring down briefly at the Wind Daimyo. “Are you okay?”

“Never been better,” she said weakly, taking a shuddering breath.

He gave her a look and she just shrugged. But then she threw herself at him and he barely was able to catch her and hold her securely, adjusting her into a more comfortable hold as she sniffled into his chest. He felt awkward holding her, but he grew used to it and rubbed her head in comfort.

“Let’s get him to his room, huh? He’ll think he had too much alcohol and that he passed out, and this was just a dream,” he muttered to her.

Reluctantly, he pulled away and bent over to pick up the Wind Daimyo, wishing he could just drag the man there the entire way instead. But it was quicker and less conspicuous, so he dealt with it and got to the man’s room in record time, with Naruto trailing after him quietly. Dumping the Daimyo onto the bed, he disgustedly turned and faced Naruto, only to rapidly turn back around in shock and embarrassment.

“What are you doing?!”

“I’m leaving my bra and panty here,” she told him dryly.

At that, he turned to her furiously, though he avoided staring directly at her, considering her shirt was off and she was just about to shed her pants.

“Why the hell would you do that?” he growled angrily at her.

But she kept quiet, and he couldn’t help looking more directly at her, confused. He saw her look miserable, and regretted sounding so harsh.

“It would be better in the long run if he thinks we did it, right? And maybe he won’t trouble Kazekage-sama as much, for at least a little bit. Maybe…maybe I really _should_ have done it with him –” she started guiltily.

“Absolutely not!” he cut her off vehemently. “Kazekage-sama would never condone it! Sure, he’s done and allowed a lot of things he’s not proud of, but he would _never_ let you do such a thing or ever get hurt in any way.”

He hadn’t meant to burst out like that or be so passionate…and yet it was also still weird to be talking about himself in the third person too.

“Really?” she asked with wide eyes.

“Yes, definitely,” he smiled gently at her.

“O-oh…okay. I’ll just take ‘em off and leave them on the floor by the bed then…I’ll undress him after…” she muttered.

“I’ll undress him,” Nagi inwardly sighed. If he was going to go along with this, he was _not_ going to let her have to do any more of the dirty work than necessary. “You should also leave your undergarments near hidden under the bed, so it’ll look like a mistake and you were either in a rush to leave and/or couldn’t find them. It’s better than him thinking you left them on purpose.”

They both shuddered at that.

He quickly and professionally undressed the Wind Daimyo, and then carelessly and uncaringly scattered the man’s clothes off to his side of the bed on the ground. He turned back to see Naruto just finished putting on her shirt back on.

“Done?”

“Done! I’m hungry now! Let’s go to the kitchens!” she wrapped an arm around his and practically frog-marched him out of there.

Well, he was a bit hungry as well. And damn. He was starting to crave some ramen now.

* * *

 

On the day of their leave, Nagi had been looking for Naruto, who had mysteriously disappeared that morning. He sent out a chakra pulse and locked onto her signature, and immediately zeroed in on her location. Surprised and wary to see that she was near the cells where the prisoners were being held, he found her just as she looked to be finishing up her business with the shinobi who had specifically attacked her.

Glancing at the other man suspiciously, he turned to see Naruto smiling and looking okay up at him…but something about it seemed off.

“We’re leaving. You done here?”

She nodded cheerfully. “Yep. Done. Let’s go.”

Something was bothering him. “Alright. Come on.”

He glanced back at the foreign shinobi, who looked back at him impassively and revealed nothing. It further bothered him.

“Just…come on, Naruto,” he said tiredly.

When they reached Suna, Nagi had learned about that particular shinobi’s escape the day he and the others had left the Wind Capital. He was the leader of this so-called rebellion, and had been a former and retired Kiri-nin, that had moved to Wind Country and to the Capital. Long story short…he didn’t like how things were in the Capital, or the Daimyo, and now this shit was happening.

Nagi would agree and be on the man’s side, if it weren’t for the fact that it was causing huge headaches and problems.

The next time he saw Naruto at the noodle bar, he casually mentioned the man’s escape and she just gave him a small enigmatic smile. He froze.

_Holy fuck._

One of _his_ ninja conspired with the enemy and helped him escape (because the man’s chakra had been Sealed, and there was no other way for the man to escape unless help had been given, which was damn amazing considering that it’s the very same man that had attacked her). She was helping enemies against their Capital.

Naruto was specifically conspiring against their Daimyo _because of him_.

He didn’t know whether to be impressed and flattered by the strong and very heartfelt devotion and loyalty…or have a heart attack.

He knew she knew he knew, when she hesitantly tugged at his sleeve and looked up at him with imploring, impossibly blue eyes that mimicked one of his favorite gems.

“Don’t tell Kazekage-sama” she whispered. “I don’t want him to worry or get in trouble.”

He felt touched and guilty and all sorts of a mess of emotions inside.

Started 6/3/13 – Completed 6/12/13

 

_**Omake! (The Genjutsu Tales: Part III)** _

“Meow!”

A did not have any problems or bad feelings about using Yugito’s genjutsu weakness against her. Not when she brought home _twenty_ stray cats (where the hell she found them, he didn’t know), and for the past week, those little shits have been scratching up all his furniture and leaving little “surprises.” He was not impressed when he stepped in one of those surprises that morning.

The jounin in question was on all fours, sniffing at a ball of yarn before batting at it with a manicured hand. Delightedly, she began playfully rolling it back and forth.

A snickered.

“Sir, isn’t that a little mean?” Darius watched his superior warily.

A growled and thrust a mauled up cloth into his face. “You see this? This came from a vintage armchair! VINTAGE!”

He also didn’t want to admit his kage hat had been the cats’ favorite bathroom.

The ball of yarn flew into the air and smacked him straight in the face, followed shortly after by Yugito tackling him in the effort to get the ball of yarn.

Started 7/1/13 – Completed 7/1/13


	9. Maligned Bridges I

“Why are you pretending to be someone else when you are with Naruto?” Gaara demanded to know.

Nagi sighed. Both of his sons had finally managed to corner him a week since they arrived back home to Suna, after their trip to the Wind Capital (they must be really determined, seeing as how he would have been able to keep away longer). He hadn’t really known how this was going to go, but the more he realized he had to tell Naruto the truth, the more he knew he had to tell his family first and let them know what was going on and who she really was.

“What’s this? Dad’s pretending to be someone?”

He inwardly groaned. And now Temari was involving herself…

“Dad’s pretending to be some guy named Tenoh, while he’s with our teammate,” Kankuro caught her up. “Who we hadn’t known he’s been consorting with for a long time now.”

Nagi snorted. “Consorting?” he asked dryly, glaring lightly at his kids, as Temari had joined the other two eagerly.

“Yes! Consorting!” Kankuro said in an accusing tone. “What are you up to?!”

He twitched. “Why am I automatically the bad guy?”

“Because,” Temari said nonchalantly, but didn’t elaborate.

He twitched again.

Gaara further explained what’s been going on and how they’d found out to Temari, who looked fascinated and increasingly curious and interested.

“I have something to say about all this,” Nagi announced loudly, purposely interrupting. His three kids quickly focused on him, eerily intense in their staring. His irritation suddenly became anxiety and he licked his lips. “Actually, there’s more to Naruto than practically this entire village knows. You see, I know her parents.”

And then he was explaining who they were, how and why Kushina had come to Suna and brought Naruto there, how she’d died and he’d tried all these years to look for Naruto unsuccessfully, and how he finally found her and realized who she was.

He hadn’t expected for Kankuro to burst out laughing. “Oh geez, Dad. Really? You didn’t catch her all this time because you didn’t know she was actually a _girl_?”

“…And _that’s_ what you got from all of that?” Nagi deadpanned, staring at his son strangely.

Kankuro blushed, shrugging. “It’s hilarious.”

Temari nodded along, looking at him apologetically. “Sorry, Dad. But he’s right. It kind of really is.”

A brief smirk flitted across Gaara’s lips, before he frowned.

“Then I am completely certain in my assumption that Naruto is that little girl from all those years ago,” he murmured, rather confusing his family.

“Elaborate, Gaara. We can’t all read minds,” Temari prodded, quite literally with a finger as well, earning a sulking glare from her youngest brother.

He reluctantly told them about his rather well-kept secret about how he’d met a blonde angel, who had given him flowers and helped him make friends. He also told them about his recognition and his guess that Naruto was that girl, upon the second day after the formation of their team.

Kankuro burst out laughing again. “She’s the one who got you into flower pressing?”

Gaara growled under his breath and used his sand to grab his brother’s ankle, lifting him up and putting Kankuro upside down.

“Hey, hey! Let me down! Dad!” Kankuro whined.

Nagi huffed. “A few more seconds, Gaara. That should teach you, Kankuro.”

However, that revelation of Gaara’s made him uneasily remember the chibi ‘angel’ of his own, that he had vaguely seen back in the hospital, and the _glitter_...

He was completely sure it was her, even without proof, but he would no way in hell mention that incident with _anyone_. Not even if his life depended on it.

Like hell he would say anything about being glitter-fied and put into some princess role and-and-and –Damn it all, the whole thing was just too embarrassing.

Though a part of him thought it was kind of adorable Naruto had put herself as some “Princess Charming,” as she called herself, and wanted to help him even then. It _was_ all kinds of sweet, he would admit.

But he was still never talking about it. Ever.

Kankuro was finally righted and he sat back on his seat grumbling about the unfairness of it all, while Gaara and Temari went back to focusing on him with twin looks of scary intensity.

Nagi inwardly sighed. What was wrong with his kids?

“Okay, so now you know,” he started. “I’d wanted you guys to know and be prepared, because I’ll be telling her the truth as well, soon enough. I really think she should know…and I was hoping to ask her if she wanted to move in with us. If you guys are okay with it?”

“Yeah! Naru-chan is moving in with us, Gaara!” Kankuro cheered, while Gaara had a look of satisfaction on his face.

Temari got up dreamily, practically floating away from them. “The Desert Prince is coming to move in with us…”

Nagi blinked, scrunching up his eyebrows. “The…Desert Prince?”

Kankuro coughed awkwardly. “Uh…Baki-sensei never expanded too much on that little tidbit, did he?”

Nagi looked at his son, raising an eyebrow in question.

Kankuro winced. “Well, it’s like this…”

Gaara escaped from that awkward talk, deciding it best to retreat. He should go find a good room for Naruto to move into, maybe get a head start on decorating it to her liking…Definitely one near him. Perhaps she would like some of the pressed flowers he had, to decorate her room…

For Nagi, after that enlightening “bonding time” (he snorted at that) with his kids, he went to start his day and work finally. He felt rather anxious about it, since he knew that he hadn’t shown up at his usual time, or at all, to his office, and that Naruto had probably been worried and rather upset at his absence in her usual routine.

He quickly went through his paperwork, glad that he managed to finish most of it rather quickly, and periodically glanced out his window and wondered if Naruto could see him right then. It was later than even his latest, but he hoped she was still there and would be happy to see him even for just a bit.

He decided the rest of what was left of his paperwork could be done later, and sped over to the noodle bar, hoping she would be there. To his luck, she was there and chatting with Kazuhiro as she ate what looked to be, according to the stack of bowls next to her, her fourth bowl of ramen.

“Tenoh! I thought I’d missed you!” she immediately spotted him.

Giving back an easy smile, he slid into a seat next to her and said his order before focusing on her.

“Mornin’,” he leaned on the counter lazily, his easy smile turning a little quirky.

“Morning,” Naruto grinned back. “No mission for you yet, lazy ninja?”

“It’s not my fault I’m more useful in the village,” he poked her forehead, but inwardly he felt guilty. It was a true statement, but he knew she’d read that differently from what was truth.

“When _are_ you going to be back on duty anyway?” Naruto asked curiously. “You went with us that one time, I remember. You seem like you’re fine and stuff, so I don’t really know why you’re off duty.”

Nagi’s smile faltered. “I-it’s personal.”

She still looked confused but didn’t push, and he wanted to pull his hair out and blurt out everything right then.

For Kami’s sake, there were some people around them in the noodle bar that was staring oddly at their out of uniform Kazekage! (He had been lucky enough that usually he and Naruto were alone at the noodle bar.)

“Tenoh, here,” she handed him a parcel covered with a cutesy pink handkerchief, with chibi foxes and raccoons decorating it (he wondered if she realized how ironic that was).

He took it from above, by the tied knot, and his smile returned full force. He ignored Kazuhiro’s suddenly rather loud and cheerful humming, someone’s squeal of “How cute!” and surrounding giggles around them.

“I made _takoyaki_! I made a lot, so instead of packing a few for you to try, I made you a bento box,” she was smiling so happily at him and just beaming, that he had the hugest urge to coo and throw his arms around her and cuddle her.

He was horrified. He’d _never_ had that urge before. Ever.

“Do you want to eat some with me?” he asked, inwardly shaking off that thought.

She suddenly pouted. “Actually, I’m late for meeting my team. I gotta go now. I hope you like ‘em?”

“I’m sure I will,” he assured her and she left him behind.

“Here, _Tenoh-san_ ,” Kazuhiro said dryly, placing a small sauce container in front of him. “ _Tsuyu_ for your _takoyaki_.”

“Be quiet, Kazuhiro,” Nagi sent him a glare, even though he took the dipping sauce anyway. “I’ll demote you.”

“I’m retired, Kazekage-sama.”

“I’ll demote you anyway.”

The noodle chef just smirked to himself, cooking more noodles.

After that, Nagi went back to his office and was immediately cornered and rushed into his office by a frazzled Baki.

“You! Explain yourself!” Baki ordered.

He sighed and resigned himself to explaining the whole situation again, this time to Baki. It took a bit, but at least the jounin seemed much more reassured and less confused about the whole matter.

“Aren’t you supposed to meet your team?” Nagi raised an eyebrow at him, remembering that Naruto had rushed to meet the others.

“…This was more pressing at the moment,” Baki told him shortly, though the look on his face said that he had also forgotten about that.

Baki gave him one last huff before leaving him, and Nagi reluctantly went back to work. He finished rather quickly, considering how he had unusually done work (and a lot of it) that morning when he’d arrived. He decided he could go and hand out some missions. If he was lucky “Team Kickass” would be there…

He snickered under his breath.

For awhile, the missions-giving went slow and boring, but then a client came in and Nagi took one long look at the man. The old man seemed like he’d gone through one hell of a journey, looking roughed up and out of sorts, holding onto a saké bottle loosely in one hand.

“I…I would like to request a C-rank for my return trip to Wave, as well as to help watch over the construction of the bridge I am working on. My name is Tazuna,” the man said nervously, introducing himself as an afterthought.

“Wave, huh…” Nagi murmured. Something seemed very off to him, especially with the man’s demeanor adding to the oddity of the situation. “If I recall, Wave is closer to Konoha. Why didn’t you contact them for a C-rank prior to setting out on this…journey of yours?”

Normally, a mission was a mission and he wouldn’t question it, and especially wouldn’t want to practically give one over to Konoha (more so since those Leaf-nin had been eating up _their_ missions that were supposed to go to them). However, there was too many warning bells being set off in his head, and since he had been thinking of giving this mission to Baki’s team, then he was going to be certain of all the details.

He could see Tazuna visibly swallow. “That is, you see, I…I was going to go to Konoha originally…In fact, I had been…I’d just gotten sidetracked.”

Nagi raised an eyebrow. “All the way to here, in Wind Country and my village?”

Tazuna winced. “I, uh, yes. I was on my way…and there was this thing…and I had gotten onto something…that brought me all the way to here…where I found Suna?”

Nagi hid his twitch. “If you want to hire my ninja, I suggest you become more forthcoming,” he let the slightest of his KI out just to intimidate the man, and manipulate him into talking because of the unknown pressure. “Or you won’t be leaving this room,” he added incentive, his Anbu taking the hint with two of them becoming visible and appearing suddenly by the entrance and blocking it.

He could see Tazuna start sweating and had gulped audibly.

‘’I-I…” and then Tazuna confessed that he was being hunted by ninja, and that he had been heading to Konoha until he’d been waylaid by bandits who were hired by some character named Gato to kidnap him. He escaped from them, but got lost and had to ask for a ride from a caravan, who ended up somewhere nowhere near Wave or Konoha…or Fire Country for that matter. He’d been knocked out the entire ride, due to his ordeal with the kidnapping and had heard Suna was near to his location, and made his way here.

Nagi thought it over (he _was_ rather impressed with the civilian, who was amazingly rather shinobi-like and resilient). It would be beneficial to Suna to accept this mission, especially since they were low on missions and they needed to accept any missions that came their way. Plus, it was a one up on Konoha, who kept stealing missions from them…and it would be even greater that they would be getting to do the same, specifically given that Wave was a neighboring country and a potential ally Suna could steal for themselves, right from under Konoha’s nose.

“Very well,” Nagi nodded surely. “I’ll grant this mission. In fact, you can still pay for it as a C-rank. A genin team will have to take it, however, but it’ll be the best genin team Suna has. I assure you that they can more than take on whatever comes their way. I will demand that, aside for payment of a C-rank, that once your bridge is complete and is starting to bring in income, that a percentage goes to Suna, for our help and the huge discount afforded to you. We will discuss the percentage later, though I assure you that at least we won’t be asking too steep a price, given that Suna also knows the hardship of poverty and is still trying overcome it from the last shinobi war, unlike certain other villages,” Nagi played the sympathy and ‘alike’ cards, and continued to prod at Konoha with a metaphorical stick.

He inwardly snickered. Take that, Leaf bastards!

“Additionally, as I have a meeting with the Hokage in two weeks, I will be accompanying you. Luckily for you, you will also be having the protection of a kage, for at least two weeks.”

Tazuna looked ecstatic at that, while Nagi patted himself on the back mentally. He got out of doing his paperwork and he got to spend time with his sons and Naruto.

“Why don’t you find one of the resting rooms here to wait in, while I call your team?” Nagi suggested. While Tazuna did so, Nagi had one of his Anbu go collect the team, who came not too long after.

“So, Team ‘Kickass,’” he addressed them in amusement. “Ready for another C-rank?”

“I change my mind!” Baki cried out suddenly. “We’ll call ourselves Team BAMF instead!”

“Yes!” Naruto cheered, pumping a fist into the air, while Kankuro pouted.

“At least people won’t really know what BAMF means and it doesn’t sound too conspicuous like ‘Team Kickass,’” Baki muttered.

Naruto patted Kankuro’s back. “Don’t worry. _You_ can still call us and introduce us as Team Kickass. It’ll be an alternative name.”

“That being said, for the official documents, must we call ourselves ‘Team Baki?’” Gaara interrupted. “We’ve been discussing it, and it would be mundane for us to go along with that. As non-traditional as we really are and have become, the team as a whole have decided that it would be best to go with something else.”

“Something…else?” Nagi blinked.

“Team Orange,” Gaara concluded, seeing as Naruto was again shy and odd around his father and Kankuro was still pouting. “Because red and yellow makes orange. Brown just makes it burnt orange.”

“What are you talking about?” Nagi stared at his youngest.

In unison, Gaara, Kankuro, and Naruto pointed at their hair.

“Baki-sensei has no hair, so his stands clear and our color stays the same,” Kankuro cheerfully added.

Baki developed a tick near his eye and he began to look murderous. Nagi coughed, gaining their attention and thankfully diverting a potential murder (or several murders).

“So that C-rank…”

Suddenly, the team looked very eager and were looking at him so intensely, Nagi was rather surprised he hadn’t combusted already. Of course he was being sarcastic, but it _was_ a thought to get into…

“It isn’t really a C-rank,” he started, gaining confused looks instead. “It’s more of a B-rank, or even A-rank. However, due to certain conditions, it’s being paid as a C-rank. I will accompany you for a few weeks, as I have a meeting with the Hokage to head to around that time. Keep in mind, that should you succeed in completing this mission successfully, that it could be very beneficial to Suna.”

When the team only had to trade a look with each other, communicating silently, before turning to him and agreeing quickly to take on the mission, Nagi hid his proud smile and began to tell them the mission specifics and anything else they would need to know. Then he had Tazuna brought in, and he never thought the shit could hit the fan so suddenly like this.

“They don’t look like ninja,” Tazuna said bluntly, staring at the genin team. “That one is wearing makeup, that one too –just with eyeliner –and he’s super short, and the girl is way too pretty to be a ninja. She looks like a supermodel or something! Should she really be here?”

Before Nagi could react, all three of his favorite genin team began leaking very large amounts of KI, with their countenances darkening as they glared at Tazuna, who started sweating bullets again. Just as suddenly, they stopped glaring and their faces lightened up, and they smiled brightly at their new target.

The KI was still coating the air heavily and their smiles didn’t look right (especially with their eyes close).

“Don’t worry –” Kankuro was suddenly beside Tazuna, chakra strings immediately appearing and constricting around the man.

“Tazuna-san~ We will –” This time it was Naruto who appeared, behind Tazuna as she draped herself over his shoulders, purring out the words as a hidden weapon in her mouth appeared and pointed at Tazuna’s jugular. The bridge builder gulped, nicking his skin on it.

“Protect you,” Gaara finished with his monotone voice, appearing by Tazuna’s other side and began enveloping the whole group in a sand sphere and hiding them from view.

“You are not supposed to attack your client,” Nagi deadpanned, wearing a bland expression that was hidden by the veil.

There was a pause and silence, before slowly and reluctantly the sand retreated and revealed the group again. All three had pulled away from Tazuna, Kankuro pouting and Naruto looking chastised, while Gaara looked bored (though he too looked like he was hiding a pout).

Poor Tazuna looked faint…but he _had_ brought it upon himself.

“I…concede,” Tazuna choked out. “They’re very ninja-like. I have nothing to complain about my escorts.”

“Very well. If there’s nothing else, Team…BAMF, you may proceed to gather your things and get ready for the mission. Meet at the gate in fifteen minutes. Tazuna-san, you will be escorted there by one of my personal shinobi, who will also be accompanying us on this mission. Please return to a waiting room to wait, and he’ll come retrieve you soon,” Nagi informed the man, ignoring the suspicious looks of his family and Baki while Naruto was oblivious.

When they all left, Nagi was left alone (minus his Anbu guards hiding around…and obviously snickering in amusement). He pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed to himself. This was just going to be more trouble than it was worth…

And why did the feeling of dread seize his gut, and something told him that he was going to have a lot of trouble on this mission?

Maybe he should’ve stayed in Suna, stuck fighting Paperwork, boring meetings, and old and withered bats who liked to complain in his ear all the time.

Started 7/9/13 – Completed 7/15/13

 

**_Omake! (The Genjutsu Tales: Part IV)_ **

“Goddamnit! NOT AGAIN!”

There was only so long that Obito could keep watch over Yagura. Sometimes, _sometimes_ he had to leave –take a freakin’ leak or something!

He comes back to see the fucking tower was flooded and he would have to swim to the basement where he locked up the damn Mizukage.

The thing about genjutsu and using them (and in essence the Sharingan) to control jinchuuriki…if you didn’t have a constant and tight control of it, the jinchuuriki would go out of control and cause havoc on behalf of the genjutsu they’re in, along with their tailed beast.

One more time…one more damn time, and he swore he’d murder the Mizukage and let the beast go and revive it.

In his place, floating in the middle of the ocean of water he’d created, Yagura dazedly stared out. He blew out his cheeks and then pushed out the air, creating an air bubble to escape from his mouth and into the water.

He giggled.

Started 7/16/13 – Completed 7/16/13

 

**_Omake! (Tazuna’s Heroic Journey aka The Long, Roughed Up, and Horrific Tales of Tazuna, the Bridge Builder)_ **

If he was right, he’d be in Konoha in maybe a few days…

“It’s the bridge builder! Tackle him!”

He was caught off guard when a bunch of disgusting men dog piled on him. Wasn’t that overkill?!

Before he knew it, he was tied up and being loaded onto a wagon, whereupon they started traveling. But he would not be put down! He could get out of this.

He then took his saké bottle from out of nowhere, poured some onto the ropes biding his wrist, and then began rapidly rubbing it against something, first creating smoke and then full-fledged fire. Of course, it was only after the fact, that Tazuna panicked about having his wrists practically burning.

He yelped, hurried to get them off and then let it drop as he jumped out of the wagon in relief. He forgot about the burning ropes that began to burn the wagon, and the unsuspecting bandits controlling the wagon and the ones walking ahead.

He hurried to get away, only to trip over a rock and knock himself out.

Tazuna didn’t realize he’d been picked up by a caravan, who were on their way to Wind Country. When he briefly woke up, he babbled something about needing to see ninjas, and then passed out again. He woke up completely in a desert village, in which he realized with dismay, was nowhere near Konoha. But then he was told they were near Suna.

Bingo!

Besides, wasn’t Konoha supposed to be a bunch of tree-huggers, or so people said?

Started 7/16/13 – Completed 7/16/13


	10. Maligned Bridges II

Nagi had made sure to be at the Gate first, creating a clone and dressing him up in his kage robes. He kept his clone there, and traveled back to retrieve Tazuna (introducing himself as Tenoh). And then he was bringing him over to Suna’s outer walls, where his Kazekage clone awaited with the newly christened Team BAMF. Besides Naruto, the rest of the team watched him suspiciously. He inwardly sighed at their suspicious glares, but ignored it for the time being.

He signaled to his clone, and it took charge and they were soon setting off from the village and starting their journey to Wave.

“Nami is going to be a long way, huh?” Kankuro asked curiously.

“Yes,” Tazuna answered him. “Actually, it really is much closer to Konoha. Due to circumstances, though, I found my way to Sunagakure.”

And while they discussed that, Nagi caught Naruto’s eye and waved her over. She looked at him in question, but she did change her course and made her way to him.

“What’s up, Tenoh?”

“Are you hungry?” he smiled gently at her. “I saved your _takoyaki_. I didn’t get a chance to eat it, or even taste it, before I was called in to come on this mission with you all.”

“Un! Try it with me too, Tenoh,” Naruto grinned at him.

Nagi unsealed the bento box she’d given to him, and they began quietly eating together.

“This is really good, Naruto,” he complimented her, not commenting and embarrassing her further about the red cheeks she sported. “Thank you for sharing with me.”

“Naruto-kun,” his clone called out, interrupting them. Both of them turned to the Kazekage clone in surprise, though Nagi for a different reason than her. “Why don’t you come up here and travel by my side, hm?”

Taken aback and cheeks heating up even more, Naruto gave a small smile to Nagi before she jogged up and settled by the Kazekage clone.

What in the world?

Nagi was completely baffled, though he was sure the others were as well. Well, his team at least. Tazuna wasn’t aware of the situation, so wouldn’t understand…

In any case, he hadn’t expected for his clone to call out Naruto like that, and for it to basically order her away from Nagi’s side. The fact was, he’d created the clone for this mission (just like the last mission) in order for him to be able to spend some time with Naruto, and his clone would be able to do all the commanding and leading his position dictated he do. This was a surprising development, and he didn’t know how to take his clone going outside of its “programming.”

Still confused, he watched as his clone led the way and had Naruto by his side.

After that, they were probably at the border of the desert when they came across something…very odd.

Nagi didn’t know if they were just stupid, or the heat had given them brain damage, because there must be something very wrong for them to use a simple genjutsu of where they hid in a puddle…in the middle of a fucking desert, with hot sand around, and the blazing Kami-damned sun beating down on everyone. And no way in hell of rain ever touching that area.

The Demon Brothers severely tanked in Nagi’s estimation of them.

Although Tazuna was oblivious, the rest wasn’t and they were all staring at the stupidity in front of them. Nagi felt a headache coming on, and he was quite sure that the others weren’t sure of how to take this new obstacle in their path.

That was nothing to when his _clone_ stepped forward and created a wave of Gold Dust, violently diving it into the puddle, dragging the brothers out, and whirled them around in dizzying acrobatics and in flashy movements that showcased the usage of his Gold Dust (with emphasis on the glinting of the gold by certain movements).

“What the hell is Dad doing?” he heard Kankuro murmur to his youngest.

“I…don’t know,” Gaara said, sounding uncharacteristically lost. “I think…he’s showing off?”

“For who?! No wait, don’t answer –I know –”

No, Nagi actually would like that answered. Because he wasn’t sure what was going on and why his clone was acting like this and who the hell was he trying to show off to and –

“Naruto-kun, aren’t they such silly idiots? To think they actually thought they could best the Kazekage! Hah!”

And then Nagi’s mind shut down and he just became even more confused and out of sorts, and the others weren’t helping any.

“Why is everyone confused?” Tazuna muttered, confused why everyone else was confused. “She’s a pretty girl. Why wouldn’t a virile man like him not want to show off?”

Nagi choked on his breath and twitched violently.

“It’s not like that,” he choked out, though he felt very faint and wasn’t sure if he’d be able to stay conscious.

“Sure, whatever,” Tazuna rolled his eyes.

“We…we need to keep going, Kazekage-sama,” Nagi forced out, forcing himself not to twitch or clutch at his head.

“Of course, Tenoh-san. We should hurry on.” Why was it Nagi heard a big, fat smirk in his clone’s voice? “Naruto-kun, keep by my side, hai?”

“Un! Of course, Kazekage-sama!”

Truly, Nagi was at a loss.

After the Kazekage clone had knocked out the brothers and two of the hidden Anbu came to take them and head back to Suna with their new baggage, they took a quick break and then headed back out again.

They were heading closer and closer to Wave, but their travel was still a long journey. Several times they’d had to camp out, and there were many breaks they had to take. Like right now, though they were getting close to Wave, they decided to take one final break in a neighboring village just out-skirting the country of Wave.

Naruto had found a ramen stand and had gleefully bought three huge bowls to go, and had been wandering around for a space to eat her ramen peacefully, when she’d been caught off guard by the approach of the Kazekage.

“Naruto-kun, I see you’ve found a place to feed your ramen addiction,” he teased, causing her to turn red.

Shoot, she hadn’t even known he knew about her love for ramen. And that’s nothing to say about how he’d actually _teased_ her…

“Do you mind if I walk with you?” he asked, and she embarrassingly stuttered out her agreement.

They started walking, and though she was rather tense about walking with the _Kazekage_ , she strangely felt comfortable and at ease.

“I was just going to find a place where I could sit and eat my ramen,” she told him suddenly, bringing up her original plans.

“There’s this lovely garden I passed by earlier. Would it suffice?”

Her face seemed to be permanently on high heat. “Y-yes. It sounds like a great place.”

He led the way and she followed at a sedate place, still feeling like this whole thing was rather surreal. Once at the garden, she zeroed in at a perfect spot, where she sat down and went straight to digging into her food. The Kazekage sat down next to her, a little more calmer and much more dignified, but she couldn’t help notice how close he was to her.

She couldn’t believe how flustered she was getting, over such a simple thing.

“So Naruto-kun, I’ve heard such great things about you,” the Kazekage was suddenly speaking.

She shyly smiled at him. “I-it’s all nothing really.”

“So modest! But I believe that they’re right. You’re really special, aren’t you, Naruto-kun?”

Naruto was sure her face was going to stay red forever at this point.

The Kazekage leaned closer to her, so close that Naruto could see his dark brown eyes from underneath his kage hat and the only thing that wasn’t concealed by his veil. She knew she was blushing horribly, more so when he tuck a stray strand of her hair behind her ear.

“But you are special. You are very special, Naruto-kun. In fact, you are so very special to _me_.”

Naruto seized up and stared at him with wide eyes. He gently tapped her nose, before running his hand through her short hair affectionately.

“Enjoy your food, Naruto-kun. I will see you later,” he said before leaving her behind.

The others couldn’t understand why she seemed so dazed and out of it later, when she came back and was in their presence again. Although, when she glanced at the Kazekage, she turned a bright red that baffled everyone.

Nagi frowned and glanced suspiciously between his clone and Naruto.

They made great time and was in Wave, and Tazuna had no problems leading them to his house quickly. There, they got started on planning.

“We should scout and evaluate the area, see what the situation is,” Nagi suggested. He glanced at his clone with a frown.

“I believe Naruto-kun is brilliant with her clones? Perhaps she should make an army of them, and have them henged as villagers. That way, we can have a better understanding through undercover and stealth. Gaara can scout from the sky, using his sand,” his clone added smoothly.

“Kankuro-kun,” Nagi added the odd attachment to his son’s name, “and Baki-sensei should stay here and set up traps, protect Tazuna and his family, while the rest of us are gone. It wouldn’t do for us to all be gone, and leave them unprotected.”

“Okay, but no explosive traps?” Kankuro made sure.

“No explosions,” Nagi gave him a stern look.

The group as a whole, even Baki, looked disappointed. He raised an eyebrow at Baki, who pointedly looked away. The team was rubbing off on the man…

“Naruto and I should go see if we can find Gato’s main holdout,” Nagi suggested next.

The Kazekage clone didn’t answer, and he looked in surprise at it. “…Yes…That is…a sound idea,” it finally said reluctantly. No one else seemed to notice, but it was still odd to Nagi.

With one last glance at his clone, he herded Naruto out and missed the darkening eyes of his clone watching them leave closely.

It actually didn’t take too long to find Gato’s main place of residence, if simply because the man was ostentatious and his place showed it as well. Even in the middle of a forest, the man had no sense of decorum or secrecy.

Nagi scoffed. “The man obviously has an inflated sense of ego.”

“Can I make it go boom, Tenoh?” Naruto asked cheerfully.

Nagi sighed and flicked her forehead. “No. No boom. At least not yet,” he added reluctantly.

She beamed at him.

When they finally got back, the whole group began to make their plan of attack. They decided on continuing to plan on a decisive move at the end, at the same time as they began to weasel out the more minor bases and make it look at first like accidents that demolished their buildings.

It was to their amusement and good luck, that the demolition was being blamed on one of Gato’s minions who seemed to have become too coincidental in surviving each attack and being near when the explosions were supposed to occur.

Likewise, there were a few more weak-minded of the thugs serving Gato, whom they intimidated into silence, helping them, and giving them information. It was the main base that was looking like it would be much harder to infiltrate, due to the presence of missing-nin and since Gato was actually there, making the security even tighter. It was one of their intimidated enemies who had given the suggestion of an undercover infiltration.

“I can do it,” Naruto volunteered.

Just as Nagi got ready to refute, his clone beat him to it.

“Absolutely not,” it said firmly.

Though she hesitated in the face of who she thought was her Kazekage, she put on a determined face and went forward.

“I’m the better actor among the group. You can’t go, especially since you’ll be leaving soon for your meeting with the Hokage. Tenoh’s gotta make sure we all follow the plan and keep us all in line and ready. Baki-sensei’s gotta make sure to provide the right support for everyone, and can’t go in to focus singularly on a job like this. All of you have distinctive features that will make you stand out, while I look ordinary enough and can explain away my whisker marks as scars or something. None of you can use henge because there will be actually ninja there this time, and if it was an option, I would still be better because my henges are solid and lifelike, and couldn’t be easily detected or dispelled.

“Plus, I’m a girl,” she said frankly. “A poor, helpless beggar girl –” and ‘pretty’ everyone else added in their heads, “will be more likely to get accepted in, with no questions.”

“I don’t like it,” Nagi’s clone stubbornly said, but Naruto didn’t back down.

“I _can_ do it,” she pushed for it.

Well, at least Nagi knew that despite her strong devotion and loyalty towards him, she wasn’t going to be afraid to back down for something she was willing to fight for. Which made him worry about future situations in which he wasn’t going to be willing to put her in, or send her out to do or deal with –and yet know she was going to stubbornly argue that she was capable of it.

“Alright. But you must be extremely careful, and not put any risk to yourself. Abort when it becomes too risky,” the Kazekage clone reluctantly agreed, and Nagi whipped his head to look at it, glaring full force.

Though it was barely agreed upon and not a true consensus, that was the plan for the moment and everyone had to agree with it. At least Naruto decided to take a full day to concoct and perfect the persona she was going to act on once she’d infiltrated Gato’s main base. That plus she wanted to see the Kazekage off, since he was finally leaving them.

Nearing the time for his departure, with his Anbu patiently waiting outside, Nagi and the clone were in the midst of swapping clothes when Tazuna (of all people) barged in. The old man blinked and had to rub his eyes furiously, before realizing that there was indeed two of Nagi. That in fact, Nagi and the Kazekage looked _extremely_ alike.

“What the –”

Nagi rushed forward and grabbed Tazuna, pulling him roughly into the room, before doing a quick check outside for any other interlopers. He shut the _fusuma_ rather roughly, but luckily didn’t damage the paper door.

“There’s…two of you,” Tazuna noted, rather faintly.

Nagi glared. “Yes, he’s my clone.”

“But…why are you posing as two different people?”

“Well, um,” Nagi turned awkward, but forced out a brief (albeit uncomfortable) explanation. Kami, why was he even bothering to explain himself?! It was this stupid situation, he just knew it.

“…So Naruto-chan doesn’t know, and you don’t want her to know? But why? I don’t understand why you’re pretending to be this Tenoh to her, or why you’re keeping the truth from her,” Tazuna blinked in confusion.

“It’s complicated!” Nagi refrained from throwing his hands in the air. He snatched his kage robes from his clone, and irritably shoved them on. “You,” he directed towards his clone. “Remember you’re Tenoh now. Don’t let her know we’re the Kazekage.” And then he turned to Tazuna with a glare. “And you don’t let her know either!”

He led the way out, his clone nonchalantly following and Tazuna trudging behind and still feeling confused. Outside, he was greeted by the others. He exchanged quiet goodbyes, taking one last look over the group (lingering a little on Naruto), before he led the departure, his Anbu loyally following after him.

He left behind an odd group, who made it through the day on a rather stilted atmosphere. It was like that, even during the evening.

Naruto was quietly eating her dinner, still pondering about the strange exchange she’d had with the Kazekage. All around, the dinner was sober and no one was talkative, although Tenoh had been acting rather odd and kept glancing at her with unreadable looks. She didn’t know what his problem was.

She mentally shrugged. Whatever. She’d just have to tease him about his behavior after the mission, or when she saw a good opportunity to sneak it in.

Other than that, Naruto really hadn’t expected for anything to happen, until the little one at the table burst out angrily.

“Why are you all even trying? It’s obvious Gato’s going to win and you are all going to die!” the kid, Inari if she remembered correctly, screamed at them.

Gaara merely glanced at him, before ignoring him and focusing on eating. Kankuro bristled, but before he had a chance to blow up, Naruto was already moving.

No one had seen her move clearly, but she was at her seat and then suddenly she was in front of Inari, who had braced for a hit and yet only to find he was being embraced warmly by Naruto, who had kneeled down and comfortingly rubbed her face against his.

“Inari-kun…” she murmured, eyes closed. “If we only lie down in defeat, then what is life worth? Have the sacrifices made become in vain? Do we not honor those sacrifices then? Fighting comes with a price, but so does dishonoring the dead. We must not linger and feel despair forever, for we will just be as dead as those who have died.

“Inari, live so the dead can be proud. So your father would not have died for nothing, for you had been everything to him.”

She moved back and smiled softly at him, taking his head into his hands and tilting it back. She brushed back his bangs, and gently kissed his forehead. Without another word, she gracefully stood and gave him one last tender smile, before leaving him.

Inari stayed frozen, unheeding to Gaara looking at him and then watching the exit that Naruto had left through, while Kankuro gaped in awe and wonder at where his teammate had left. Baki merely shook his head, idly thinking that this wasn’t actually a real “princely” moment from their resident “Desert Prince,” but something rather genuine from the actual article.

Nagi’s clone had watched closely the entire time and when she’d left, it had stared at the exit intensely before it decidedly stood up and then followed after.

Naruto hadn’t thought anyone would follow her, but she was taken aback (only oddly that it was just slightly) to see that Tenoh had followed her out. He was solemnly watching the sky as he stopped next to her, and she tilted her head as she shifted a little on the dock she’d taken to sitting on.

“You’re a strange little thing, aren’t you?” he surprisingly came out with.

Naruto raised her eyebrows and smirked a bit. “I guess I am.”

His lips twitched up. She was about to say something else, when he ducked down, his hand gently taking hold of the side of her face, and the next thing she knew he was _kissing_ her. His lips lingered on hers for a moment, before he pulled away and his dark brown eyes looked mischievously at her, while a smile played on his lips.

“You _fascinate_ me,” he confessed, looking and acting much more seriously.

His hand fell away from her face and then he was walking away and back towards Tazuna’s home.

Naruto stared after him, feeling utterly lost.

* * *

 

It was time for Naruto to leave and try to infiltrate Gato’s main base, hopefully “enlisting” with no trouble. She ate breakfast with everyone else, cheerfully helped Tsunami out, and then she was saying quick goodbyes and exchanging good luck’s with everyone before she was leaving.

She’d made it at least a mile away before Tenoh caught up with her.

She stumbled on a jump, before balancing herself and then leaping to the group and awkwardly looking at him.

“You didn’t say bye to me,” one side of his mouth lifted slightly.

She gave an embarrassed laugh. “I, uh, was in a hurry and couldn’t find you.”

“I was within your range the entire time,” he said wryly.

“Er, I didn’t notice you?”

He trekked a bit closer, stopping right just in front of her. He leaned forward and draped himself loosely over one of her shoulders, and she froze up.

“The sun goes up and the sun goes down, I drag myself into the town. All I do I wanna do with you~” he breathed into her ear the odd tune, unhurriedly nuzzling her neck.

He languidly leaned back, face still close to hers as he grinned lazily at her.

“Mikan-hime, come back safely, ha? _I’ll be waiting for you_.”

He finally moved away from her and took a step back. She watched him rather dazedly, before she numbly began her journey to Gato’s base once more.

Naruto stopped just before Gato’s base, making sure her chakra was still suppressed. And then she changed into ratty clothing, dirtied her face, and stumbled into the clearing around the base, looking confused and out of it.

“Hey, little girl. What the hell are you doing here?”

She turned and saw a couple thugs guarding the entrance and looking at her warily. Naruto gave a beatific smile at them, feigning shyness and happiness. They immediately looked dazed.

“Oh! I’ve finally found this place. Please! Let me work here! I’ll do anything!” she watered her eyes for good effect, and pouted her lips a bit. She even subtly shifted her shoulders a bit, letting her shirt fall and expose a shoulder.

They straightened up and grinned widely, though they leered a bit at her.

“Don’t worry, pretty little girl. We can get you a job _easily_ ,” one of them bragged.

In no time at all, she was brought before Gato. Keeping composure, she kept smiling ignorantly, ignoring the leers and stares from many of the others they’d passed and currently was surrounded with. Even Gato had a greasy smile as he looked her up and down.

“You want to work here, you say? How’d you even find this place?” Gato was still a bit leery.

No matter. Naruto upped her bright smile, playing up the naivety and sweetness. “My family is really in trouble. We need money and work is really hard on us. I heard you were hiring and I tried really, really hard to find you! I searched the town, but I didn’t get nothin’. And then someone said you lived in the forest, so I spent days and days looking for you! I was really lucky! I promise I’ll work hard, Gato-sama!”

Gato grinned rather lasciviously. “Gato-sama, eh? Yes, of course there’s work for you here!”

“Really? Yatta! I can do anything! I can even be a bodyguard. I’ll protect you with my life, Gato-sama!” Naruto pumped a fist into the air.

Gato laughed raucously, and smiled patronizingly at her. “Bodyguard, eh? Of course, of course. Zabuza! Why don’t you show her to the kitchens? She can start there for now. After all, there’s _plenty_ of things she can do for us.”

Naruto kept smiling, giggling a little too.

Really, it was all too easy.

A tall man with bandages around his mouth came forward, glaring at Gato before turning towards her with a smirk barely visible under those wraps.

“Come on then, girl. Follow me,” he said gruffly.

She happily skipped after him.

At the kitchens, they were joined by a rather pretty boy, who was dressed in traditional clothing.

“Haku! This is…uh, who the hell are you, kid?”

“Naru~” Naruto sing-songed, grinning widely.

Haku gave her a small wave, to which she beamed happily at him.

“So, Naru, what’s for dinner? I’m hungry!” Zabuza whined.

Naruto sweatdropped. For a missing-nin, he was kinda whiny…

“Zabuza-sama…” Haku sighed.

Well, at least she was part of the group now.

“Ho! That’s an awesome sword!” Naruto exclaimed, finally noticing the big ass banryuu on Zabuza’s back (now that she wasn’t busy focusing on getting into that place).

Zabuza preened. “This? Of course it is!” he whipped out his banryuu and postured with it. “My dear, this Kubikiribouchou. Isn’t she a beauty? I named her Hana-chan! ‘Cause she’s as pretty as a flower. Aren’t you, my pretty?” he cooed at his sword.

Haku sighed again, though he watched his master fondly. Naruto was actually agreeing enthusiastically.

“Hana-chan~ You are a very pretty sword~”

And so Naruto and Zabuza formed a bond over his sword.

* * *

 

“No, no! The kidney is much more painful.”

“So? The heart is always the best! It’s always gory, and gives the best explosive presentation. It’s a classic! A fan fave!”

“Baka! Don’t cater to fans! You must make the most of your kill or incision!”

Haku shook his head at the conversation he was being subject to. However…

“I would say aiming at the aorta, preferably at the neck, is much more bloody and just as painful,” Haku said dryly.

Zabuza snorted. “It’s not an organ, Haku. Don’t be silly.”

Haku rolled his eyes.

Naruto just hummed cheerfully, patting the pillow she was sitting on and of which very useful documents were under and where she’d hidden them after Zabuza and Haku had sought her out. She had an official layout of the other bases that they still hadn’t finished off, how many people were employed where, what Gato was planning and had in the works, and a layout she’d made of that base. And of how she’d obtained that?

Apparently no one was going to question the silly girl, dancing and singing around the corridors, even if it was at odd hours at night, and even if she was most probably memorizing and noting everything.

When Zabuza and Haku finally left her (which was after he’d needled her into making him miso soup of which he was strangely craving for), Naruto created a clone, henged it into a dog, and grabbed the documents, henged those into a bloody and juicy steak, and tossed it towards her dog clone.

“To the others, my Dog of War!” she quietly cackled, although she was pouting inwardly at her inability to madly cackle aloud and of the fact, technically it was “Dogs of War.”

However, it would be most suspicious to have multiple rabid dogs rushing about.

Her henged dog clone viciously growled with the bloody document steak in its mouth, before it set off violently running.

“What the fuck?! Who let the dog in?!” she heard.

She giggled to herself.

Next, she was back to rifling and pilfering through her usual places, when her eyes lit up upon finding some very exciting things she was eager to ransack. All the rummaging she did come to fruition!

“ _Interesting_ ,” she purred.

Who wouldn’t want to obtain all of Gato’s assets?

Within 24 hours, Naruto received word and she nodded to herself, grinning manically at the game plan. She was currently working on a chocolate cake, in memento of Gato, when Zabuza and Haku came in and spotted her.

“Are you guys stalking me?” Naruto teased.

“We stalk the kitchen, of which you run,” Zabuza declared.

Haku clapped his hands. “Oh! Chocolate cake. I love it!”

The effeminate boy rushed over, inhaling blissfully. “First cut is mine,” Haku actually demanded.

“Sure, sure,” Naruto grinned. “I have one thing I need to say though.”

Zabuza, who was sniffing around the cake but being glared away by Haku, looked up and away from the cake reluctantly.

“What, gaki?”

“Here,” and Naruto tossed them a scroll, of which Zabuza unsealed and both he and Haku’s eyes widened at the amount of cash delivered to them. “It’s Gato’s, but he won’t need it anymore.”

“Wha –”

“We’re going to kill him,” Naruto said matter of fact. “You needed this job for the money, right? There. He wasn’t going to pay you anyway, so I made sure to get your share and double it for the double cross.”

“You…” Haku started disbelievingly.

Naruto dramatically whipped out her Suna hitai-ate from out of nowhere, and tied it around her neck.

“Why are you telling us? You could have killed us and gotten our bounties, or taken us out for whatever reason,” Zabuza demanded, narrowing his eyes at her.

Naruto blinked. “Why ever would I do that? I _like_ you two.”

Flustered, Zabuza lifted his chin and awkwardly tried to shift his body threateningly.

“Yeah, well…we’re not leaving without eating this cake then!”

Naruto raised an eyebrow. “Okay. Fine. It’s in honor of _‘Gato,’_ so enjoy.”

Zabuza grinned viciously, while Haku looked smug. “In that case, it’ll be my pleasure.”

He grabbed a knife and began to happily cut up the chocolate cake earnestly.

When they were long gone, Naruto was happily still in the kitchen and finishing up the Satsuma orange cake she was baking, while ignoring the sounds of mayhem going on around her from outside her little sanctuary. When it was all over, the door to the kitchen opened and Tenoh walked in, whistling.

“You’re just in time,” Naruto hummed cheerfully. “I just finished! I made you a Satsuma orange cake.”

His lips slowly dragged into a half-grin. “Eh, my mikan-hime made me a mikan orange dessert~”

She pouted at him and held away the dessert, to which he stole from her easily while gently tapping her nose with his other hand (it was kinda déjà vu…).

“Come on, Naruto. I’ve come to bring my mikan-hime home.”

Started 7/30/13 – Completed 8/1/13

 

_**Omake! (The Genjutsu Tales: Part V)** _

Killer Bee stared in horror at the man. No music at all? Not even his precious rap. There’s something wrong with him. There has to be.

“Yo! How can you hate my rap, you piece of crap? Imma battle you out, and lay the smackdown on your snout!”

Of course, just as he was about to start rapping about the cruel, disgusting people in the world, the takiyoki crime lord sneered and gestured to his hired jounin mercenary. But he knew about Killer Bee, jinchuuriki to the Eight-tails. He had no chance. Quivering on the spot, he cast a genutsu, the only thing he was really good at, and hoped it was enough for him to get a head start at running away.

Seconds later, Killer Bee was frothing at the mouth and whipping about.

“MUSIC! MUUUUSIIIC!”

Next thing they knew, a several stories high and wide octopus was wildly thrashing about and roaring crazily on the crime lord’s front yard. They both gaped.

“I’ll take the rapping! I’ll take the rapping instead!” the crime lord screamed.

Started 8/7/13 – Completed 8/7/13

 

_**Omake! (Naruto the Bandit)** _

“Ohoho! One more round!” Naruko sung raucously.

“And whosa meerily singing! And who ah dun –” the drunkards started from the start.

Haku shook his head. He hadn’t actually thought she would fit in so well with this bunch, and yet somehow she’d managed to weasel her way in and become popular with everyone on base.

“Again! Again!”

“And whosa meeeeerrrilly siiiiiinging!”

Haku cringed.

Started 8/7/13 – Completed 8/7/13


	11. Clones and Masks

Nagi was roof-hopping towards the Hokage Tower, pondering the clone he’d left behind. He was still rather confused and off-balanced by the oddness of its actions and behavior…And had it really been _competing_ with him? He hadn’t realized it at that time, but that was what it looked like, when he looked back at its actions.

When his clone unexpectedly dispersed in Wave, Nagi should have been concerned with the how and why.

Instead, he was assaulted and horrified by the memories of the clone, as he received them.

 _He_ – _It!_ –had kissed Naruto. _Kissed_!

The unfortunate stumble as he kept processing that fact only served for him to trip and slam head first into a wooden pole.

He heard various exclamations of “Kazekage-sama!” and “Kazekage-sama?!” around him from his Anbu, but he was still stuck on what he’d learned. Of course, now he knew why Naruto had been so flustered at that village they’d stopped at before heading to Wave.

And when he’s gone and out of the way, that blasted, rebellious and insubordinate clone of his goes and kisses Naruto out of nowhere! How the hell was he going to explain that one to her?! Especially since it was as _Tenoh_ , her friend (her _best_ friend if he may be so bold as to say), who she hung out with, talked with regularly, and spent her time with aside from her team.

As the Kazekage, that odd encounter could have gone on without further notice, but she _knew_ Tenoh. Most of their time together…most of _his_ time was spent as Tenoh and with her.

Thinking uneasily, most of his days _had_ been spent being Tenoh and being around her…

Regardless, most of their time spent with each other she knew him as Tenoh, and that mutinous clone just messed up everything.

“I’m alright,” he said gruffly, getting up slowly and shaking off his guard. He wouldn’t admit he was still a bit dazed, but more from the memories (more so on what they entailed) rather than the collision.

He continued on his way to the Hokage, which would be his final meeting with the old man. However, he was still dwelling over the…mischief (that was putting it lightly) his stupid clone had gotten up to, in his absence.

When Naruto went to infiltrate Gato’s base, that his clone had followed and…went all weird on her was another slight against him. Nuzzling her neck…saying all those things…And then after the mission…

_“Come on, Naruto. I’ve come to bring my mikan-hime home.”_

And then that morning, _sleeping_ next to her…

Nagi didn’t even want to linger on how his idiot clone had gotten dispersed in the first place.

He put more speed into his travel, cutting time away from his journey and most importantly his thoughts. He was hurriedly let into the Hokage’s office, and was once again face to face with Sarutobi Hiruzen.

“Ah, Nagi! Sad that it’s our last day together, eh?” Hiruzen greeted him cheerfully.

He plastered a polite smile on his smile. “Yes, of course.”

Resolving to put his errant clone in the back of his mind for now, he spoke about their current matter at hand. They traded talk about the political negotiations they’d been going over for the past few days, settling the final agreements. Nagi thought that would be that, until Hiruzen hesitantly brought up something he hadn’t expected, but should have.

“I…I would like to request that Kushina’s body be brought over to Konoha,” the Hokage looked solemn.

Nagi stiffened up and even frowned, but didn’t let any of his thoughts cloud his face.

“I apologize, Hiruzen,” though he didn’t really sound too sorry. “I cannot do that.”

Hiruzen looked surprised. “I don’t understand. Why not? She should be buried with Minato and here, in her home.”

Nagi’s frown deepened. “She _ran_ from Konoha, and came to _me_. She sought sanctuary from me and my village. Even in death, I would honor that sanctuary.”

Hiruzen opened his mouth to try and persuade him further, but Nagi shook his head firmly. “And again, she ran from Konoha. Whatever her reason, it must have been important and it had been her choice. As she ran from you, even in death, Kushina is no longer your concern.”

And that was the fact –Kushina had run from Konoha, and if he hadn’t known why, he still wouldn’t return her body because there had to have been some reason for her to do so, and he would never let them have her back since she had cut all ties with them in that way.

As it was, he _did_ know the reason and was very attached to that reason. He would never involve Naruto in this, and he would definitely not put her in such a situation and where she could get hurt.

He wasn’t surprised that Hiruzen didn’t elaborate on Kushina’s reason for leaving Konoha, despite that Nagi already knew (not that Hiruzen knew that he knew).

“I understand,” though Hiruzen didn’t look too happy about it. “Kushina…she had a baby with her. Did you…did you see him?”

Nagi kept any telling hint off his face. If there was one thing he prided himself on, one thing that most of the other kage he could proudly say he beat them at, it was his poker face (that and his observation skills).

“She did arrive with Naruto, as she told me. However, she left him by the walls, and died before being able to retrieve him or lead us to him,” he stuck to the fiction of Naruto being male. And given that Hiruzen probably knew about his searching, he continued. “I have been continuing to search for him, however I fear either someone may have grabbed him or that he might have died in the time it took trying to look for him.”

He ignored the flinch Hiruzen gave at the mention that Naruto might have died. Besides, it wasn’t true, thank Kami.

“I see. Thank you for the information, Nagi. It would greatly relieve me if you could keep me apprise of that situation,” Hiruzen kept a straight face and tone, but Nagi knew that he really meant that.

“I will,” Nagi lied.

He couldn’t. He hadn’t so far.

Besides, Naruto was _his_ kunoichi. His citizen. His…friend.

Nagi cleared his throat awkwardly and asked the only person who could probably enlighten him about the subject.

“Prior to his death, Minato had taught me a jutsu that was very appreciative and useful. Lately…it’s been…giving me an attitude.”

Hiruzen blinked. “A jutsu…giving you an _attitude_?”

Nagi twitched. “He taught me the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu. I…I, er, have been using it extensively. The first time I did it was on a mission, and I had it as a double of me. It went fine, nothing happened. This last time was just the second time. It’s been…doing and acting…beyond its scope, basically.”

Hiruzen furrowed his eyebrows. “I…Huh. If I recall, if a Kage Bunshin exists for longer use without a firm specification –a bit of idleness, you can say –they tend to act out. The longer it exists like this, the more culpable it is to gaining a sort of fake personality. It is still fake and a copy, but it still forms itself.”

Nagi shifted. “Longer existence, as in…days?”

The Hokage stared at him. “…Days?”

Nagi cleared his throat again.

Hiruzen looked unsure. “Yes, most definitely then. And anyway, the Kage Bunshin generally takes on characteristics of its user in the first place, but the extensive use would make it start going beyond that and manage to make it seem like a person itself. Or even that longer use of it, would bring the clone to take a specific characteristic of the creator it took on, and form a personality around it or generally make that aspect of the creator they are based on become amplified.”

Nagi realized one thing about that irritating clone. “What if it started out that way from when it was formed? I created a clone and it was already like that.”

Hiruzen looked thoughtful. “Well, in that case, supposedly if that happens, then it’s a clone taking on the repressed desires of the creator. The longer it exists, the worse it becomes and the repressed desires are the specific characteristics of the creator they take on and form a personality around. And more time makes it worse and amplified, as I said.”

Nagi looked and felt dumbfounded. “Repressed…desires?”

“Yes, that was what I said –”

“No! No, no, no,” Nagi shook his head vehemently. “Absolutely not! You’re wrong.”

Confused and worried, Hiruzen eyed his fellow kage in bemusement. “I’m just telling you –”

“No! You don’t get it, Hiruzen! That blasted clone’s been _competing_ with me! With me! The original! It’s a copy of me!” Nagi was standing up now, and waving his arms about in a panic with his words. “And saying and acting all weird around a girl who’s supposed to be my friend! It can’t do that! It’s not supposed to do that! She’s not going to get it!”

There was snickering in the shadows and Nagi twitched. And he knew it was _his_ Anbu too. Hiruzen’s was just frozen and in shock.

“Idiot Anbu!” he yelled. “Out! My Anbu, get the hell out! Hiruzen’s will do fine!”

When he felt them gone, still snickering, he slumped back into his seat and had a sour look on his face.

“…Nagi?”

Nagi looked up at Hiruzen with a glower.

“What?” he asked rudely.

Hiruzen raised an eyebrow. “I believe you should reevaluate your friend then.”

The red head scowled terribly at the other. “No, because there’s nothing to evaluate –” and he shut himself up and refused to go any further on that train.

“Hiruzen, I’m going to just go back to my room, crawl under my covers, and hide there,” Nagi deadpanned. “Better yet, smother myself with my pillow.”

Hiruzen stared.

“And if I live, then I’m going to finally just go home. Thank you for the enlightening conversation, and glad to have made peaceful negotiations with you. I’m going to leave now, and hopefully not pull out all of my hair. Goodbye, Hiruzen.”

“…Goodbye, Nagi.”

He stalked away and headed straight to his room in the hotel he was staying at, before proceeding to actually try to smother himself with his pillow, stopped by his (once again) unhelpful Anbu, kicked them out before crawling under his covers and hiding under them completely, and then curling into a ball and clutching painfully at his hair.

The next day, Hiruzen briefly visited him in the morning (he was very aware he looked horrible and irritable with red eyes, hair that stuck up everywhere –a rare occasion where his hair misbehaved –and rumpled, slept-in clothing). His answering the door must’ve been terrifying.

Further information about the Shadow Clone jutsu was imparted on, of that it was a B-rank jutsu, while its more expansive related jutsu, the Multiple Shadow Clone jutsu was an A-rank _kinjutsu_. Well, at least he knew the exact difference now.

Hiruzen told him, having incorrectly guessed that Minato might have taught him it (okay, so Nagi might have untruthfully implied that when Hiruzen had poked around for information in the beginning of his visit, but since Naruto used it on a daily basis on an unhealthy level, he had to find out _something_ ), that it was very dangerous to use and the reason it was a kinjutsu was that not many would be able to use it, as it required the user to create an unbelievable amount of clones with an equal splitting of the user’s chakra reserves, which could be very deadly and costly to the user.

A kage, like the two of them, could probably create at least twenty to thirty (maybe even forty, at their best) clones using this jutsu, but it was a jutsu that could create, and was supposed to, up to hundreds of clones, which was deadly for most of everyone. Only a very few could probably successfully utilize the jutsu to its maximum potential, like jinchuuriki, Uzumaki members, and people with monstrous chakra reserves. Which, according to Hiruzen, didn’t apply to anyone, as there were no Uzumaki members left, and no jinchuuriki and people otherwise knew the jutsu (or even its safer B-rank version).

But he didn’t know what he was talking about, as Nagi knew a person who fulfilled all of those requirements. He reluctantly gave his silent blessings for Naruto to use that jutsu.

Afterward, Nagi was finally on the trek home. There was a detour he had to take first, though. Having obtained a map of the Land of Fire, he traced the outskirts of Konoha on it, and had his Anbu report to him about the Uzumaki shrine he had them scout out, while he was meeting with the Hokage and kept a few on the lookout. He remembered Kushina talking about it a long time ago, and had hoped to stop by and be able to pick a little something up to give to Naruto as a keepsake, especially since it was from her mother’s family.

Plus, maybe it’ll help him when the time came to tell her the truth about things (Not that he hadn’t thought of the shrine and keepsake as something he had just wanted to do for Naruto…but thinking about wanting a little backup and help when it was time had been an inevitable thought. He was just saying.).

A little bribery and flattery never hurt, right?

Funny enough, they managed to find the shrine pretty quickly. There was just…oddly a ton of creepy masks.

“Um…Kazekage-sama? Why are there a lot of masks?” one of his Anbu asked.

“…I don’t know…”

Nagi inwardly shrugged. Well, lack of choice and all, he guessed that a mask was indeed what he was going to bring home to Naruto.

He looked around, trying to find a good mask, when his eyes spotted a specific one. He cringed.

He remembered the days when Uzumaki Kushina carried _that_ mask around, and tended to scare the hell out of everyone she could with it (Baki was a frequent and exacerbated example).

Nagi had also been one of her more favorite victims.

He stared at the mask, and though it would be fitting to hand it over to Naruto (as her mother once had it), all he wanted was to take it and create a bonfire around it.

He could still recall being creeped out by the mask (still was), and how Kushina would sneak up on him and scare the crap out of him with it. Or just generally carry it around him, or wear it when he was in the vicinity or the group of them were hanging out.

He wanted the mask to _burn_.

And that mask in front of him was definitely _that_ mask. He couldn’t forget it. He would never be able to forget it (not with the amount of time and the memorable scares from it). There was no way he could mistake that mask. That was _It_.

“You!” he pointed at one of his Anbu. “Retrieve that mask,” he then pointed at _It_.

The Anbu stared at him and then at the mask. The poor guy trembled and slowly walked over to it, and once near it, he reluctantly reached out. With a quick thrust, he flung it off of its hook and it sailed into the air.

Nagi twitched. Whether in annoyance at the Anbu or the nervousness of coming into contact with that mask, was not to be answered.

He whipped out a spare rag and held it out, waiting and catching the mask with it. Avoiding touching it, he tied up the rag and then tossed it at an Anbu.

“Put it in a bag,” he ordered.

And then his Anbu was panicking and freaking out, shoveling the covered mask at each other and never touching it for long.

“You put away!”

“No, _you_ put away!”

“I don’t want to take it!”

“Somebody hurry and take it!”

“I’m not touching it!”

“Get it away, get it away!”

“Grab it already!”

“It’s EVIL!”

“Shut up!” Nagi snapped. “Just put it away already.”

The Anbu looked at each other.

“Kazekage-sama, do we really want to bring this?” one of them asked in a hushed voice.

“It’s _evil_ ,” the same one who said that before reiterated in a dark tone.

“It is, it is,” one of the others agreed. “I can feel dark energy from it. You never know what’s wrong with it.”

“It’ll draw _Yuurei_ to us,” another one exclaimed in a horrified voice. “I’m telling you, I bet it can do that. Doing it right now too!”

“ _Yuurei_ ,” the group of them whispered anxiously to each other.

“We’ll get _Onryo_ haunting us!” one of them shrieked. “Vengeful ghosts who come back from purgatory for a wrong done to them in their lifetime! They’ll smother us with their negative energy!”

“Or even… _Ikiryo_ ,” one of them gasped. “This mask will attract even living people who have souls separating from them into spirits things that haunt everyone because of their intense jealousy and rage!”

“Don’t they only haunt those they have grudges against?!”

“You never know with this mask!”

Nagi shivered. “E-enough,” too bad it sounded so weak. “Just…shove it into my bag and let’s get going.”

“We should _exorcise_ it, Kazekage-sama!”

“Yes, exorcise it!”

Nagi swallowed nervously. “Right…We need…we need an _ofuda_. Who has an _ofuda_?”

Everyone looked at each other. No one, unfortunately, did.

“That’s…fine. I’ll just…write one up,” Nagi muttered.

He searched in his bag, found paper and a pen (ink and brush would have been better, but he didn’t have those, damn it), and then crudely made one up quickly. Then they unraveled the covered mask and Nagi quickly stuck the _ofuda_ on the forehead of the _oni_ -mask, muttered a quick prayer, and rushed in tying up the cover again and slinging it into his bag.

“Let’s go,” he muttered.

Dreadfully, he felt the mask weigh heavily on him, from its place in his bag on his back. He wasn’t sure if he was imagining that or the evil laughter he was hearing in the back of his head.

The heavy weight of the mask felt like those folklore urban legends that said vengeful ghosts haunted a person, and could even drape themselves and stick onto the back of a person, creating excessive and horrible weight on that person being haunted.

Nagi didn’t want to know if he was being haunted.

The rest of the journey was spent freaking out (for all of them, but especially Nagi), and Nagi wondering and uneasily thinking about the suspicious weight on his back, of which the mask was in the vicinity of.

He stopped and took his bag, flinging the covered mask out of it and at his Anbu behind him.

“I’m Kazekage! You’re supposed to protect me and do as I say! _YOU_ take the _freakin’_ mask and carry it!” Nagi screamed out in a panic.

He then proceeded to speedily rush forward, and continued to lead them by a distance.

Started 8/18/13 – Completed 8/18/13


	12. Sand Storm

Of course, being a clone and all, he knew he was just a reflection of Sabaku no Nagi. He wasn’t actually him. He wasn’t real at all.

But clone or not, he had opportunities and he had transient feelings that last so long as he existed.

_Her hair was like spun gold…_

The clone blinked tiredly, but stayed where he was. He was in no hurry to move, much less leave. He was quite content where he was, thank you very much.

That being lying by a sleeping Naruto’s side. He retracted his hand, from where he’d been combing it through her hair, but he still didn’t leave her. He was happy enough to just lie beside her simply, watching her sleep and wondering to himself.

Slowly, he moved that hand across her and had that arm gently rest against her abdomen, loosely hugging her. If his original had been there, not only would he be upset and most probably infuriated with him, but he wouldn’t have even be able to be near Naruto, much less be in this position and lying next to her in the first place.

His original still couldn’t see things clearly.

At the thought of the original Nagi, the clone frowned as he carefully brushed back some of her hair out of her eyes. It was getting long…

The original Nagi was blind and clueless. But then again, the clone had specifically taken on _those_ qualities, hence why he knew more expressively about the truth when the original was still oblivious.

Which made things more torturous for “himself.”

To know deep down how he really felt, and be so close and yet so far away. Even more so because he was a clone. Truly, what a bad hand he was dealt with, compared to most clones.

Then there was that sooner or later, he would be gone anyway. Dispelled, lack of energy, a hit that packed too much punch for him to be able to sustain himself…He had no real existence. And that hurt even more because his feelings about her didn’t matter. They practically constituted as not real because _he_ was not real. To truly feel for someone and not be able to exist in their eyes…Then the knowledge of soon to not exist, and yet having felt so much in the time he had.

Why was it so cruel to be a clone in this matter?

He’d rather be cannon fodder, a sparring partner, a training technique, just anything than what he was now. A clone filled and revolving around certain feelings…feelings that were not truly his in the first place. He was just a clone after all.

A clone whose sole true purpose was to quietly love a girl, and yet never be acknowledged.

He could feel the energy he had left still depleting. He had been existing for a long time now. Maybe that’s why he was so despondent and cynical right then –he could feel himself “dying.”

He heard the door slide open and he looked up to see his creator’s younger son enter. Gaara stopped short at the sight of him and Naruto, but he still wasn’t moving away from the spot.

“You should move away from her,” Gaara glared.

“Oh? Why should I? You really shouldn’t talk that way to your father, Gaara,” the clone briefly smirked.

“You are _not_ my father,” Gaara scowled. “You are just a clone.”

Ouch. But conceded, the clone acknowledged.

“And what are you going to do about it?” the clone murmured, slowly getting up. But he didn’t move away, instead moving to go above Naruto and hover above her. “Going to fight me on behalf of your father?”

Gaara’s face darkened and he inwardly let a bitter smirk appear in his head.

Clone suicide by provoking creator’s son enough to want to kill him.

But before Gaara’s sand could reach him and finish him off, they heard Baki calling for them. The two traded long looks, but they both left and let Naruto sleep in. It was just a quick round up, with Baki just telling them what was needed to be looked over before they were ready to leave, and then the clone was quietly trekking back up to the top floor.

He decided he’d go to the bathroom. Technically, he didn’t have to as a clone. However, it was best to keep up with appearances and at least pretend to _not_ be a clone.

He had been so lost in thought as he went into the bathroom, that he hadn’t realized someone was already there. And taking a shower. And that it was Naruto.

Oh hell –

He turned and tried to rush out quickly, only to forget he’d shut the door and therefore he had run into it full force. Before he dispelled, he ironically thought that of all his attempts to get himself dispelled, it just took him running into a door…

Hearing the thud, Naruto peeked her head around the shower curtain and blinked curiously at the empty bathroom.

“Huh. Wonder what that was.”

She shrugged and went to finish up in the shower, and then afterwards trudged down to see her team, Tsunami, and Inari all puttering about the lower level of the house. When Inari saw her, he grinned widely and ran over to her, tugging excitedly at her pants.

“Naru-neechan! Come and go fishing with me! Please?”

Aw, he was so adorable. Especially that cheesy grin…

Naruto caved easily and gave a soft smile as she fondly patted his head. “Oh, alright. You win. Lead the way, huh?”

She gave her team a head’s up, with Inari being pushed by her to tell his mother, and then the two trotted out cheerily.

“So the Chuunin Exam is coming soon, isn’t it?” Kankuro interrupted, asking Baki. “And obviously you’re gonna put us in. Like duh.”

Baki looked thoughtful. “Pretty soon, yeah. It’s the end of January right now and it’ll be in the beginning of July. Your dad’s birthday comes first. And with our lifestyle, that time will be quickly gone anyway.”

“Should someone tell Naruto about the Chuunin Exam so she’d get all prepared for it? I mean, we’ll be working as a team, but she would want to work on some individual stuff. And obviously she can’t use the Rasengan,” Kankuro continued, while Gaara nodded in agreement.

Baki winced. “Oh definitely not. It’s being hosted in Konoha this year. Then again, with her looks…” he added, getting rather suspicious at the same time. He didn’t further explain that, so they reluctantly let that trail off. “This is an obvious statement. Of course she’s going to be told. Why not? And as her teacher, of course I’ll tell her.”

The two genin traded looks and Baki narrowed his eyes at them.

“What?”

Gaara awkwardly cleared his throat. “We were just thinking…maybe Dad should do it.”

Baki blinked at them in confusion. “Your dad? But why?”

Kankuro grinned. “Oh come on. Wouldn’t it be hilarious to watch him go all awkward, trying to tell her about the exam?”

Baki tutted disapprovingly. “Now you two, don’t tease your dad.”

“He does claim, at least his clone did,” Gaara scowled, briefly recalling the clone and that specific encounter, “to be Naruto’s best friend. So he’d want to be the one to tell her everything, wouldn’t he? And he’s Kazekage. Kazekage easily trumps sensei, so you don’t have to worry about her wondering why he’s telling her and not you. And she’ll know about that part of him soon. Hopefully.”

“He’d better tell her,” Kankuro muttered.

Baki thought on it, imagining it a little. A small grin crept onto his face. It _would_ be rather amusing, and especially since he could just imagine Nagi floundering, when the red head would obviously prefer her not to go into the Chuunin Exam so soon…and especially not just so far away, but in Konoha.

“Okay,” Baki nodded. “But someone’s going to have to tell her about his birthday, because he would never tell her about that.”

Kankuro and Gaara grinned (which looked really creepy on Gaara’s usually stoic face, and when they did it in unison).

“Done,” they both said.

‘By the way, have you two seen that clone of your father? Usually it’s skulking about, shadowing or following Naruto around,” Baki asked them.

The two looked at each other. Kankuro shrugged. “Nope. Haven’t seen it at all.”

“The last time I saw it was just before you called us earlier,” Gaara scowled. “Then it went up and nothing else.”

“Huh. Wonder what it’s up to.”

Though, as they talked about that, Naruto and Inari had already set up and were sitting back, enjoying the sunny day.

“Hey, Naru-neechan?” Inari spoke up suddenly.

“Un? What’s up, Inari-kun?”

“I was wondering…I heard Grandpa and Mom talking, and they think you have a crush on the Kazekage,” Naruto’s eyes widened and she was going to vehemently deny that, when Inari continued. “But I was just thinking…sometimes, I catch you and Tenoh-san looking at each other the way my mom and my dad used to look at each other, so I thought you might have a crush or something on him instead.”

“WHAT?!”

But Naruto had sat up so abruptly and was freaking out and flailing about so much that she managed to get herself tossed off of the dock, and fall into the waters. Inari gaped and rushed over to the edge.

“Naru-neechan?!”

She came sputtering up to the surface, hair logged down to her head and her clothes drenched.

“I’m fine. I’m just…shocked. Yes, shocked,” she blinked water from her eyes. “I didn’t…I didn’t expect that from you. Or to hear that at all,” she admitted.

Inari looked sheepish. “Sorry, Naru-neechan. It’s just…I just noticed it.”

Naruto laughed awkwardly and soon enough Inari joined her in awkwardly laughing. They just pushed it aside and conveniently forgot about it. Or as forgot about as Naruto could.

But she worried about it incessantly the entire time with Inari, and going back to the house. And the rest of the day, while she was at it. And yet…

“Where’s Tenoh?” she asked in confusion and a bit of worry to the others.

The other three exchanged looks.

“Haven’t seen him,” Kankuro shrugged.

Naruto straightened up in concern, but Baki caught that quickly and interrupted.

“He’s probably got some side thing to do, that Kazekage-sama ordered,” Baki reassured her.

She was only a little bit, but it was enough for then. The rest of the night, though she kept that in mind, Naruto still worried about Tenoh’s disappearance and if he was okay.

The next morning dawned early, and they heard Tsunami cheerfully greeting Nagi and his guard back. They awoke quickly and headed down, and though Naruto turned odd around the Kazekage again, she was still anxious about Tenoh.

“Kazekage-sama,” Baki greeted, and did a quick dart of his eyes over to Naruto and then gave a meaningful look over to Nagi.

Nagi cleared his throat and spoke. “Everything is a success then? Good job, everyone. Seeing Tenoh’s absence, then he must have cleared things around here and went off to do the next errand I’d asked of him.”

Though normal eyes wouldn’t have caught it, shinobi eyes would have clearly seen the infinitely fraction of movements indicating Naruto’s body relaxing at hearing that.

“Good then. We’ll be leaving soon, after we finish up here. Is that alright with you, Tazuna-san?” Nagi directed his attention to the bridge builder.

Tazuna raised a glass to him, grinning. “Great. Almost finished with the bridge too, thanks to that talented blonde over there!”

Naruto gave him a salute.

And so they’d quickly finished up whatever last minute things they had to do there, before they started setting off for their journey back to Suna. On the way out, they heard the citizens of Wave discussing what to name the bridge and deciding on “The Great Uzumaki Bridge.”

Kankuro gaped at her. “What? They’re naming the bridge after you? No fair!”

“Technically, aside from her part helping bring down Gato, which had been almost a bigger part than either of ours…she _did_ practically help build a lot of the bridge,” Gaara said dryly.

“Bah! Clones…I want a clone jutsu now. Baki-sensei! You’re gonna be teaching me and Gaara some type of clone jutsu, aren’t you?”

Baki dug his pinky into his ear. “Hm? What was that?”

Kankuro and even Gaara glared at him, while Naruto snickered (and naturally drifted to travel by Nagi’s side –the others didn’t note it, but he did).

“Oh yeah! I’m going to make the Uzumaki name great again!” Naruto crowed triumphantly.

Nagi inwardly froze and wondered if it was too late to go back and beg the citizens of Wave to change the bridge’s name. He could imagine the reaction of Iwa and Kumo hearing the resurrection of that infamous clan name.

Salivating to eliminate whoever it was, kidnapping attempts definitely by Kumo (or odd worshipping), terrified Kiri-nin…

He had all of Naruto’s files under lock and key and buried under his bed (no, that was not weird), and there really was no other evidence existing of her that he had not taken and hid. After finding about most of her past, anywhere and everywhere she had been in Suna, he’d gone around and made sure any evidence of her had been swept up. Anyone else talking and knowing of her, especially the Academy, addressed her loyally and only as “The Desert Prince” (sadly enough).

He encouraged it because it was useful and because it was funny as hell.

But then she did go around and addressed herself as “Uzumaki Naruto” though, so something should be done about that. Maybe he should give her his name somehow too…

No, not like that!

Nagi mentally pulled his hair, twitching a bit.

“Are you okay, Kazekage-sama?” Naruto whispered worriedly from his side.

“F-fine.” _‘Having a mental relapse, is all.’_

“You know what? We should have a competition! We should see which of us can get the largest amount of and most impressive stuff named after us,” Kankuro announced, getting all excited.

“Ooh, I’m game,” Naruto grinned in just as much excitement.

“I want the desert named after me,” Gaara said suddenly.

“No, you are not getting the desert named after you,” Nagi deadpanned.

Gaara uncharacteristically pouted.

“What are you complaining about?” Naruto rolled her eyes. “Your _name_ literally means ‘Gaara of the Desert.’”

“But then so does Kankuro and Otou-san’s. Kankuro of the Desert, Nagi of the Desert,” Gaara sighed, playing up the dramatics.

“Eh, but your name sounds more cooler,” Naruto shrugged.

“Hey!” both Nagi and Kankuro shouted, with Nagi breaking his cool and composed leader persona.

Nagi scooped up Naruto and hung her over his shoulder, with her letting out a squeal, and Kankuro gave his younger brother a noogie for agreeing and complaining in the first place. Baki was just quietly snickering. It was great to not be the victim this time.

* * *

 

Once again, they had a stop at that same village before they would continue on to Suna. Naruto was again eating her noodles, and in déjà vu, the Kazekage approached her. Only, this time Nagi was…well, Nagi.

“You seemed a little tense during the journey,” Nagi mentioned, taking a seat by her side. “May I ask why, as I ask if I may sit here?”

“Of course you can. On both counts, Kazekage-sama,” Naruto flushed red. “I’m just…worried about Tenoh. Jerk didn’t even tell me he was going to go off somewhere. He just disappeared,” she pouted, though she tried to hide how upset she really was about that.

Nagi tried not to fidget.

“I know that he would have told you otherwise. He must’ve been in a hurry. If you don’t know, he truly cares for you,” Nagi definitely knew that as soon as they reached Suna, the first thing he did after they were all settled down would be to tell Naruto the truth.

“Yeah, so do I,” she said fondly, and there was a weird twist in Nagi’s stomach. She looked up from her bowl of noodles, giving him a happy grin. “Thanks a lot, Kazekage-sama!”

She suddenly turned an even brighter red than before and after glancing at him shyly, she leaned over and pecked his cheek. He, absolutely stunned, could feel her soft lips through the veil he wore, before they were gone and she was practically fluttering away like a butterfly.

He was still staring after her, numb in shock.

Baki was quick to appear, throwing an arm around his best friend and grinning slyly.

“So…you going to tell her about your birthday and that you’re turning 34?”

Baki dodged the sucker punch aimed at his nose and darted away, cackling, as Nagi violently threw his kage hat at him.

“NO WAY IN HELL!”

After that mess, Nagi was quick to rush everyone out of there, and on the way back home. Thankfully no further problems erupted, and they had actually managed to reach Suna in one piece. The day they arrived, they took the rest of it off to rest and settled down in the village. The next day, Nagi had planned on visiting Naruto and explaining things to her.

Only a sand storm was on its way and quickly converging on the sandy village.

The bad thing about living in a place made up of sand and surrounded by sand of the desert? Those came very frequently. And as it was, Nagi had learned that the drought they’d been having had worsened while he’d been gone, as well as the wind in the area having picked up pace. Those effects resulted in the creation of sand storms, which was not something the village lacked of –they lived in a desert, lack of water was a given; wind was a no brainer –the Land of Wind, of course.

“Make sure the whole house is sealed,” Nagi ordered, making sure his kids heard the importance in his voice about the matter. “If it’s sealed, the inside will make it completely fine.”

_‘We won’t be drowning in sand, otherwise. Or at best, cleaning up a ton of sand in the house.’_

Then he remembered his plans that day and hesitated.

“I…” he cleared his throat and tried again. “I’m going to check on Naruto. I don’t know if she’ll be alright. You three can handle yourselves, right?”

Temari impatiently gestured at him to leave. “Go, go! Hurry it up, and bring her back here. The storm looks like it’s coming in quick.”

“And don’t you get her and you stuck out there!” Kankuro hollered.

Gaara merely gave him a look that he rolled his eyes at.

“I’ll be back! Probably,” Nagi called back, while slipping out the door.

He rushed over to her place, seeing the rest of the village hurrying to prepare for the sand storm and everyone quickly going to stay firmly inside their homes. He reached Naruto’s place quickly, knocking urgently on her door.

“Tenoh? What are you doing here?” she asked in panic. Then she socked his shoulder. “That’s for disappearing on me last time. I was worried, you know!”

“Yes, yes, I know,” he rushed out. “We’ll talk about that later. Right now you have to come with me. We can go somewhere safe for the storm.”

She grimaced. “I think it’s a little too late for that. Get in here! That storm is coming in like _seconds_! Quickly now,” she yanked him in and slammed the door shut. “I have to close the door to activate the seals after all.”

And then she placed her hand against the door and charged her chakra into it. A huge seal on it lit up and then escalated to the rest of the walls in her apartment. Nagi watched in fascination.

“We wouldn’t have time going wherever you wanted to go,” she started to turn sheepish and apologetic. “You were just standing outside and I really needed the door closed. You know, by principle just to keep sand out. But the seal I made for these storms won’t work unless everything’s closed, you see?”

“Yeah,” it was his turn to be sheepish. “Sorry I was just standing there.”

“Nah, whatever. Want some tea? Or ramen?” she grinned laughingly at him.

“Tea is great. No ramen right now,” he said wryly.

She started to set that up. “So, where were you at the end of the Wave mission? I really was worried, Tenoh.”

“About that, Naruto,” he started out nervously. “There’s something I have to tell you.”

Well, he could just as well tell her there as he could have at his home.

“Naruto, I’m the Kazekage,” he flat out revealed.

She laughed at him. “Very funny, Tenoh. Now really, what is it you have to say to me?”

Nagi sighed and then he began telling her from the beginning about his deception, though he hadn’t meant for it to be like that for her. The more he talked, the more closed off Naruto’s expression became, until it was so unreadable that not even he could read it. And he had a very brilliant poker face, thank you very much.

She slowly pulled out a chair from her kitchen table, and was even slower sitting down on it. So far, she’d not looked at him and had avoided having her eyes stare anywhere near him. But then she looked up, and her sapphire eyes were heartbreakingly confused and hurt, and he really felt like an asshole right then.

“Why would…why…why would you pretend like that with me?” He inwardly winced, hearing the tremble in her voice.

“Why would you do that to me?” He winced outwardly that time.

“Naruto, believe when I say that there was never any pretending when I was with you,” he said gently. “Other than lying about who I was, everything had been completely genuinely. As to why I would pretend to be _Tenoh_ , to _lying_ to you…it had only been meant to be that first meeting. I wanted to check up on you, see how you were doing and not bother you. If you needed help or anything, I would have tried to offer it in any way, even if it had to mean revealing who I was right back then. It was supposed to be just that meeting and I would carefully watch over you in the background and in secret, to make sure that who you really were was never revealed until the right time, in case of enemies and spies.

“But then we got along so well, and then you disappeared and I couldn’t help meeting you again. And then by then, it was quickly established that I was Tenoh and who I was, and we kept talking and I enjoyed having this friendship with you. And you knew me as him and liked Tenoh, and I couldn’t take him from you either. And you were so comfortable and friendly with Tenoh, which was part of why I lied in the first place too, because you would be too uncomfortable and tense if you had known I was the Kazekage at the time. And…I guess it was just largely selfish that I wanted to keep talking to you as him, and I knew things would change if you knew the truth,” he admitted.

Naruto inhaled sharply, looking shakily at the top of her kitchen table.

“This…will take awhile to get used to,” she quietly said. “I understand and in the end, I actually don’t feel too bothered by it. And to be so angry at you about such a thing, when the whole situation brought up how I had come upon and met you in the first place is ridiculous, because I could never regret meeting you, you know? And getting all angry isn’t me at all. So that means I forgive you too.”

He gave her a small smile, happy and relieved about that, though lamented on how easily she was to forgive. But then that was okay. In the future, she could forgive all she wanted to, and he’ll burn bridges for her.

“Oh Kami…” he heard her say as he tuned back from his thoughts.

She smacked a hand against her forehead and rushed away from him and into her room, locking it behind her.

“Naruto?!”

“G-go away!”

“Wait, what? What’s wrong now? I thought you were okay,” Nagi rushed to her door and spoke to her through it.

“Okay?! After all those things I said to you about…well, YOU! Oh Kami-sama…the time I mentioned my real favorite color having to do with your hair...and about me trying to see you every morning! And all those other things…”

“It…doesn’t bother me,” Nagi winced. “Really! I got a little awkward and unsure what to do at those times, but I was really flattered and touched by your concern and care.”

“YOU’RE NOT BOTHERED?” she screamed at him. “Even when I practically admitted to that little treason thing with that enemy guy against Daimyo-baka, and I told _you_ not to tell _you_? And all those times I was insubordinate without knowing I actually was? Like earlier when I punched your shoulder, or all those times I’m overly playful and too informal than I really should have been all this time?”

“It’s okay, Naruto! I’m fine with all that! I _like_ you being so casual and relaxed with me! And that treason thing…actually, I still don’t know what to think of it, so let’s just keep ignoring it for now, okay?! Plus it’s over and done with, and we really don’t need to think about it anymore and the Daimyo really is a baka, so who cares!”

And Nagi said to hell with it, he’d buy her a new one later, and broke the lock on her bedroom door and stormed in.

“Y-you can’t do that!” she shrieked at him, still panicking over all the things she said and done to him.

“Yeah, well, I’m your Kazekage, aren’t I?” he scowled heavily. “And you keep emphasizing that so much right now.”

She stared dumbfounded at him, before she pouted completely unhappily, and yet it was so adorable that it made him calm and break down all the tension. He smiled exasperatedly and ruffled her hair fondly, keeping his hand there, even as she looked up at him in dissatisfaction and confusion.

“Well, I wasn’t always your Kazekage,” he let his hand fall from her head. She looked at him in more confusion now. “Just as Tenoh…I was supposed to be your best friend, right? Aren’t I still?” he started to feel a little unsure.

She blinked before beginning to look ashamed. She nodded vehemently.

“Yes! Of course! Always,” she promised at the end, looking at him apologetically.

He sighed in relief and gave her another small smile.

“Why don’t we go back out there and I can tell you more?” he suggested. “We can finish tea.”

She agreed hesitantly and let him pull her gently back out, and he reheated the hot water for a fresh batch of tea. All the while, as he did that, he quietly told her how he knew her parents (that he had known who they were in the first place), how and why she got to Suna (he promised her he’d show her where her mother’s grave was), and that he’d been looking for her all these years (and that he’d embarrassingly missed her because of her overlooked gender –she teased him relentlessly about that, though she was still a bit cautious). And then he told her why he’d been looking for her (all those promises he held sacred –even private ones he’d given and held to himself, how much he’d worried, how he’d wanted her to grow up cared for and with his family, that he’d just wanted her safe and alive and under his protection), and a little more on why he kept himself a secret until then, besides what he had already said about the matter.

“I’d always said I’d tell you, kept saying ‘soon,’” he murmured, pushing his almost drained cup away. “But then I kept postponing it and saying ‘I will’ or ‘later,’ and then there were other stuff that kept getting in the way and delaying it…I was going to tell you today, first by visiting you here, and then the sand storm came. I was going to bring you home, get you in a safe place from the storm, and then I’d tell you there. And then we get trapped here. Well. I wasn’t going to postpone it anymore, you know? I couldn’t let you not know any longer…”

She hummed an agreement, starting to feel tired after the tea. A soft song played in the background, with her having turned on the player in her home to keep it from being too silent in the apartment.

“You think the storm died yet?” she asked.

“Don’t think so. Sand storms around here can last for days, and that one looked like a real strong one,” Nagi sighed, sitting back in his seat and slumping a little. “Do you wanna move in with me?’

She energized a bit at that, and stared at him wide-eyed. “What?”

He coughed. “I mean, do you want to move in with my family and I? I’ve been wanting to offer it since I found and met you, but you seem happy and fine and I didn’t want to encroach. But…I’d always wanted you to live in my home, even before I officially met you. I just wanted…to give you that home, security, care and protection I promised and wanted you to have all these years, and failed to when I couldn’t even find you…”

Her face softened and she was reaching out to him before realizing she had. Her hand retracted and her face flushed slightly.

“You know…that would be nice.”

Nagi grinned goofily at her, kind of sleepy himself, and he lay back with half-lidded eyes, humming to the song.

“Oh, I do believe, in all the things you see. What comes is better than what came before~” he sung tiredly to the song playing

Naruto stared at him, mouth slightly agape. Hearing his kids, it was hard to imagine that he could sing so well, and it was kind of a shame that it seemed none of his kids _had_ inherited his singing voice. With that thought, she stumbled tiredly over to him, and tugged at his sleeve. She got him to get up and then she slipped her hands over his ribs and up his back, clasping them together as she stepped forward and leaned her head on his torso. He quickly got the hint and leaned on her also, tentatively wrapping his arms around her waist.

“And you’d better come, come, come, come to me,” she muttered the line into his shoulder.

They sleepily swayed to the song, and slipping well into more exhaustion.

_“You’d better run~”_

There were things in life he’d come to expect, many he’d wish he didn’t have to. And then there were unexpected things that came and more than anything, he felt he was blessed for it.

This was one of those times.

Still, he didn’t know what he was thinking. He was pretty sure this was one of those things that would bring Minato from his grave to come after him with a sharp Hiraishin kunai knife. And he was pretty sure this wasn’t what Kushina meant when she’d asked him to look after Naruto.

He squeezed the girl in his arms happily and thought it was rather fortunate for his sake that both Konoha-nin were dead. Not that just simply dancing with her was anything wrong though…

“Nagi-kun,” Naruto muttered sleepily, and he grinned widely. He’d been trying so hard to get her to call him his name, since she was starting to call him “Kazekage-sama” and she really didn’t know what to call him (and didn’t want to call him by name).

He comfortingly threaded his hand through her hair.

“Naruto,” he murmured tenderly.

“Maybe silly Inari was right. I…rea…lly…like you…a…lot,” she murmured, falling asleep at last in his arms.

He stood stock frozen, holding onto her still.

He had avoided looking deeply into his clone’s thoughts, beyond skimming the memories he’d gleaned. The echoes of feelings he had felt and managed to analyze along with the other information the clone dispelling had dumped into his head, the despair, tenderness, care and love…Nagi had shoved it into the back of his head determinedly. Every odd feeling he felt when in Naruto’s presence, he pushed down and ignored or dismissed.

B-bmp~

There was a strange ache in his heart and he realized the bitter truth he kept denying.

Stupid. So stupid. How much of an idiot was he really?

_You don’t go falling in love with sixteen year old best friends._

In the now silence he was drowning with, he smiled grimly at the epiphany that he was in love, holding onto that girl as he continued to stay frozen like statues with her there, in the middle of her kitchen and bowing his head next to hers, his wine-red hair overshadowing his face.

Wasn’t there a special level of Hell for his kind of person?

Started 9/2/13 – Completed 9/5/13

 

_**Omake! (The Scapegoat or That Poor Unfortunate Soul…From Chapter 10)** _

“It’s him!”

“Oh no, _him_.”

The whispers abounded and he felt irritation and shame fill him.

It wasn’t his bloody fault the damn bases kept exploding! It was just his freakin’ luck that he was always in the one base that decides to blow up at the time!

First it was the first. Oh my Kami! Poor guy. Freak accident with the oven in the kitchens. Blew the base up, few survivors.

Transferred. Next base.

Second it was the second. Coincidence. Motor in the basement just _happened_ to be faulty.

Third it was the third. Again?! This guy must have some luck to survive once more, this time from an electrical wiring being overloaded and causing a fire. That spread. Everywhere. Even outside of the base.

Now the fourth time…something was _fishy_.

By the end of it, the others didn’t know if he was the one behind the stuff, or (seeing as dimwitted and naïve he kinda was) he just had the worse luck in the entire world (and carried it with him and infected the entire area while he was at it).

When a very heavy and very solid block of _gold_ (what the?!) smacked him straight in the face, right before he blacked out he thought he was completely sure that he really did have the worse luck ever.

Started 9/9/13 – Completed 9/9/13

 

_**Omake! (Side-story: “The Best Friend Entitlement”)** _

“You two should stop being so sulky and combatant. I’m Daddy Dearest,” the clone smirked lazily at the two.

Gaara and Kankuro glared.

“No way. You suck. And you’re not Dad,” the two of them said childishly.

“And stay away from Naruto,” Kankuro piped up. “Dad –Real Dad –has a claim on her.”

“Even though Father doesn’t know he does,” Gaara sighed in exasperation.

“And what gives you the right to be so righteous and tell me to stay away from Naruto?” it drawled in boredom.

“We’re her best friends,” Kankuro scoffed. “Of course we do.”

A thunderous expression overcame the clone’s face. “ _You_ two her best friends? As if! _I_ am her best friend, you two little brats!”

And the two, scared of the ferocity and extreme fury off of the other (plus, despite what they said, the clone was an exact copy of their father and looked eerily like him and had his temper when he got angry –though obviously their father’s anger was never anything like this towards them), didn’t disclaim that or reject the clone’s claim as _The_ Best Friend. Period.

Started 9/9/13 – Completed 9/9/13

 

_**Omake! (Er, Omake! of the Omake! Eh?!)** _

“No, I’m her best friend!”

“No, I am!”

“NO, I AM!”

Baki popped popcorn into his mouth, watching in amusement. Tazuna came up beside him.

“What’s going on?” the bridge builder asked gapingly, watching the three arguing vehemently about something about ‘best friend.’

“It is an apocalyptical war of epic proportions –the fight to the title of who is Uzumaki Naruto’s best friend!” Baki announced dramatically before snickering.

“That’s it!” and the clone got fed up and just summoned a large amount of Gold Dust, grasping the two’s ankles (nullifying Gaara’s sand while he was at it) and shaking them in the air.

“AHHHHH!”

“Careful, you,” Baki grabbed a handful of popcorn and munched on it. “Listen out for Naruto. Nagi’s known for his _Gold Dust_ and if she sees _you_ with it…”

“Then I’ll just say I’m the motherfucking brother!” the clone tossed them into the air and caught them, kept doing that.

The boys screamed and the clone laughed maniacally.

“Uncle, Uncle!” the boys pleaded surrender.

“Epic pun,” Baki smirked in entertainment.

Tazuna stared at him.

“I’M HER BEST FRIEND! ADMIT IT!”

“YOU’RE HER BEST FRIEND!”

The clone cackled triumphantly.

Started 9/9/13 – Completed 9/9/13

 

_**Omake! (The Genjutsu Tales: Part VI)** _

“Oo, oo, ah, ah!”

They cursed. This was not going their way at all.

For being from Iwa, Roshi was pretty adept at moving around the trees.

They twitched and glared at the jinchuuriki. Whose bright idea was it to cast a stupid genjutsu on the guy?! Because right now, for some reason, the jinchuuriki had become like an actual monkey, like his tailed beast counterpart. Jumping around in the trees, screaming at them, throwing –

Another banana hit his partner in the head.

“I’m gonna kill him!”

“Oo, oo, ah, ah!”

And bananas. Tons and tons of bananas, and lots of them were being thrown their way.

“Why you!”

And then they slipped on some peeled skins of some bananas, and their heads collided with each other, knocking each other out.

“Oo, oo, ah, ah!”

Roshi beat his fists on his chest victoriously, got another banana, and then started to aggressively chomp on it.

Started 9/9/13 – Completed 9/9/13


	13. Too Close to the Edge

The revelation didn’t sit well with Nagi. He tried to pretend that he hadn’t come to that epiphany, nor show any outward change or reaction about it to Naruto. Even being here with her now, made him feel like he was dancing dangerously close to fiery flames.

After spending the night –alone –with Naruto in her apartment inappropriately, they were now entering Day 2 of their entrapment in the apartment together until the storm ended. He was quite sure that the storm would last until that night or tomorrow morning at the least, but hopefully not any longer than that. Especially considering where he was stuck at.

He was trapped with Naruto in her apartment, which was made worse now that he had finally acknowledged how he felt about her.

He hoped his village was weathering the sand storm, while he was weathering the storm in his head as much as he could.

“Kazekage-sama, can you set up the pot? I can make us something to eat. No ramen, I promise,” she lightly teased.

He inwardly pouted. She was back to ‘Kazekage-sama’ and still not calling him Nagi, no matter how much he said it was alright. At this point, he might even start begging…

“Yeah, I got it,” he told her, getting up from the kitchen table and puttering around her kitchen, searching for a pot before he filled it with water and set it on the stove, turning the stove on. “What are you making?”

“ _Soki soba_ ,” she told him after she slipped on a headband to keep her hair out of her way. “You like meat, right?” she suddenly looked unsure.

He nodded reassuringly. “That was true. I didn’t lie about that. My favorite dish is anything with meat.”

“Right, well, I was going to make that. I’ll have to boil the pork spare ribs to get rid of the excess fat, and after that I’ll have to stew that with _awamori_ , soy sauce, and sugar –but that’ll take three to four hours,” she told him apologetically, outwardly about the long time and inwardly because she’d been so dubious about the information he’d given her about himself.

He gave her a small smile, which turned wry. “Okay, guess we’re having it for lunch. I guess ramen for breakfast after all.”

Naruto grinned at him, and he rolled his eyes back at her as he got another pot and poured water in that to boil.

“ _Konbu_?” she offered as they waited.

He blinked before shrugging. “Hand the seaweed over…”

She handed the edible seaweed to him, and they ate silently together. When she leaned against him unconsciously as they sat together on the couch, he quietly swallowed uncomfortably and tried to keep his thoughts on track and not stray.

“I…I got something for you, from my trip to Konoha,” he informed her, focusing instead on that. She perked up eagerly. “There was an Uzumaki Shrine I remembered your mother telling me about, that was near Konoha. I managed to find it and secure something to bring back to you.”

“Really? You didn’t have to do that! Thank you so much, Kazekage-sama!” she grinned widely at him, that he weakly echoed (at the reminder of _that_ mask and of his new station and rank in her life as ‘Kazekage-sama’).

“I didn’t remember to bring it with me when I was rushing over to here, and because I was expecting to bring you back with me to my home, but when once the sand storm is over, I can bring you over and show it to you then,” he promised. “We can also transfer your belongings over –I believe Gaara had already arranged a room for you.”

Though rather bemused at that, she nodded and agreed readily.

Luckily, time passed rather quickly and when Nagi hesitantly braved opening the door to peek out (ready to reclose it, with Naruto on standby next to him to reseal the place), they found that the sand storm was steadily dying down. They waited another hour or two in the apartment before checking back out, and seeing that everything was clear. Nagi immediately went to the warning tower and had them sound the bell to give the okay to the rest of the village, and then he was back with Naruto and helping her pack.

“We should make a few clones each, to help us get this done quickly,” he decided after he saw all the boxes.

They made four clones each, and Nagi twitched as somehow each of their clones paired up immediately, though Naruto was oblivious to the matches. Their clones easily and quickly got things together and struck up easy and intimate conversations with their match, as they all set out in pairs. A Nagi clone and Naruto clone pair in each grouping somehow just instinctively matched up and so easily got along, and were way too close for Nagi’s comfort. All the pairs went out with their assigned packages, and Nagi just barely kept himself from face palming. Naruto had still not noticed the matches.

Doomed. That was all Nagi could describe himself as. Utterly and completely doomed.

He made it to his house, Naruto in tow, to find that it was already unsealed and his kids were already bickering, as per usual. He slammed the door open, twitching irritably.

“Can you three not bicker for once?!”

“Ohhh, Dad’s back!” he heard Temari croon.

“Yatta! Hey, you got Naruto too, or what?” Kankuro asked rudely.

And all three of his kids skidded into the hallway where the entrance was, and where he and Naruto were (including pesky clones still chattering it up behind him).

“Well, finally,” Kankuro was still rude. “Took you a long time, Dad.”

“Tut, tut,” Temari shook her head. “What lateness. So not like you, Dad.”

“If you wanted some alone time with her, you should’ve just said so, Otou-san,” Gaara spoke monotonously.

Nagi twitched even more.

“Each of you are grounded. Get out,” he glared at them, flushing red (more so when he heard Naruto quietly snickering).

“Sorry about that,” Nagi muttered to her, feeling rather embarrassed, though he was extremely grateful that Naruto hadn’t cotton on to what Gaara had said. “I’ll show you to your room and let’s just get you settled in, okay?”

“It’s alright, Kazekage-sama,” she smiled in amusement at him. “I don’t mind. And thank you, Kazekage-sama.”

“Just call me _Nagi_ ,” he said in exasperation.

“Nope, no can do,” she chirped, and he flicked her forehead in retaliation.

He’ll get her to that point sooner or later…

Once she’d settled in (he left her to do so he wouldn’t be intruding), he returned to her and stood at the threshold of her doorway, lightly balancing the mask at the tips of his fingers as he quietly watched her smile as she carefully caressed the thin but soft sheets covering her new bed.

“I, uh, brought your gift,” he interrupted whatever thoughts were going through her head.

She turned to face him in surprise, though she quickly looked down to see the delicate parcel he held. He tentatively took the cloth off of it and quickly held it out to her, trying to hold it as far away from himself as he could. She raised an eyebrow at him but took the mask, examining it closely.

“Looks cool. Some kind of ceremonial mask or something?”

He winced. “It’s some kind of special Uzumaki mask. Your mother used to carry it around all the time. Thought you’d…like to have it as a memento of her.”

“That’s really lucky!” she beamed at him. “You went to go get me something from my mother’s clan, and managed to find something of hers especially. Thank you so much!”

She threw her arms around him and hugged him, and he became stiff at not just the contact with her but of the mask as well (which she was still holding). When Naruto pulled back, further examination found her seeing the crude _ofuda_ stuck all over it that she finally noticed.

“Are these… _ofuda_?” she asked incredulously.

Nagi cleared his throat in embarrassment, but explained why anyway. He told her about his superstitions and that he was _not_ imagining the foul energy coming from it (and the bad memories), and while she giggled at him and his superstitions (and those _awful_ memories), she showed him the correct way to produce an _ofuda_ and that he’d have to say a long and precise prayer to do a proper exorcism on it.

He huffed and vaguely turned his nose up, not admitting to the pout he had on his face.

She thankfully hid it out of his view, though he could swear he could still feel the energy (dampened as it was from her proper _ofuda_ and correct exorcism). He then told her it was time for dinner and led her to the kitchen area, where he sweatdropped at seeing his kids all scavenging around the kitchen for something to eat. It was rather embarrassing (and he really didn’t want Naruto to be there and see this), especially with Temari practically halfway in the refrigerator and delving, Kankuro buried in one of the top shelves as he rummaged around, and Gaara dumping stuff onto the kitchen table and looking like he was thinking hard.

“I can cook us all something,” Nagi announced cheerfully, trying not to be so embarrassed at the same time.

“NO!” all three of his kids said forcefully, looking terrified.

Naruto raised an eyebrow.

“Fine,” Nagi grumbled. “We can have takeout.”

Examining what was laid out, courtesy of Gaara, Naruto nodded to herself.

“No, it’s alright. I can cook us something,” Naruto interrupted.

Nagi inwardly sighed in relief, but his kids stared before all letting out loud cheers.

“We’re saved!” Kankuro clasped his hands and looked upwards gratefully.

“We won’t starve!” Temari grinned widely, giggling slightly as she peered at “The Desert Prince.”

“Finally, someone who can cook in the house,” Gaara’s voice was still monotone, but a slight hint of relief could still be easily discerned.

“Naruto, you never told us you could cook! God, Dad. You’re such a hogger,” Kankuro first proclaimed to Naruto, before turning to his father in displeasure. “ _You_ probably knew she could cook all this time and enjoying her food selfishly! Hog! Hog, hog, hog!” he accused his dad.

Temari huffed while Gaara glared.

Nagi glowered back. “One week grounded will become a _month_.”

Aghast, his kids turned their noses up and folded their arms across their chests as they looked away rebelliously.

“I’m surprised he didn’t mention it, but maybe not really,” Naruto said, oblivious to the family’s antics as she gathered up the stuff she needed from the table. “I was making him some stuff to try, just some samples, back when I thought he was Tenoh.”

His kids turned back to him and glared ferociously. He smirked defiantly.

“And it was _delicious_ ,” he drew the word out. “Only time I could say I enjoyed being a guinea pig,” he kept his taunting tone subtle.

All three of them bristled. Oh, it was _on_.

“Hey, now with you and Dad together, can we call you ‘Kaa-ch –”

Nagi sped over to Kankuro in a panic, smacking his hand over Kankuro’s mouth and holding it there, ignoring the muffled shouts as he looked over at Naruto in alarm. Seeing that she didn’t seem to have heard Kankuro, he only minutely relaxed.

“Gaara, get rid of the rest of the stuff on the table,” he voiced loudly. “Temari, set the table. Kankuro…clean up the rest of the kitchen.” He moved away from his son and glared at them, making them start moving. He then went over to Naruto. “Is there anything you need me to do?”

“Ah, just set up a pot and pan,” Naruto decided, after looking over her current work. “I’ll finish prepping. I’ll be making _kushikatsu_ , if that’s okay with everyone?”

“Much better than eating Dad’s poison,” Kankuro declared.

“Or starving,” Temari followed up.

“…” Gaara didn’t need to say anything to that.

Though Nagi grumbled to himself, he mentally agreed. “What they said,” he muttered.

Soon enough, they were enjoying skewered and breaded meat and vegetables.

“Itadakimasu!” they all said before starting to eat eagerly.

“Sugoi! So good,” Kankuro dreamily bit into his meat again.

“Aside from these idiotic males at the table, we haven’t really met officially and face to face,” Temari cut in, addressing Naruto with a silly grin. “Pleased to meet you finally, Ouji-sama.”

Naruto shook Temari’s outstretched hand, turning on her “Prince Mode” as she smiled softly and grasped the hand tenderly.

“It is _my_ pleasure, Temari-hime.”

Temari grew hearts in her eyes (likewise, a similar occurrence in Konoha was happening at the same time, between certain ramen chefs and the quick glimpse of one Hatake Kakashi’s face). Nagi scoffed and smacked his hand against his forehead. Without looking, he managed to snag one of his daughter’s ponytails and yanked roughly.

“You –stop being embarrassing. And eat your food!”

Temari pouted, but went back to eating. Nagi then turned to Naruto.

“Geez, you and your Prince thing.”

Naruto huffed. “And you. Why are you always the only one never affected? It’s so unfair!”

“I was once! But never again!” Nagi smugly smirked.

“You’ll see! I’ll catch you off guard again!”

“I wouldn’t hold my breath!”

All three Sabaku siblings watched curiously, before huddling together and giggled rather eerily as they looked at the two bantering pair and continually whispered suspiciously with each other. Naruto was raising an eyebrow at them again, while Nagi went back to glowering at his kids.

“What are you three on about?” Naruto asked dryly.

“Nothing,” all three sing-songed creepily.

“You guys are so cute~” Temari teased.

Naruto and Nagi both went bright red at the same time.

“Grounded! All three of you for a month!” Nagi wouldn’t admit that his voice went high-pitched at the end. “Finish eating and then go to your rooms!”

He became even more worried when they weren’t even unfazed and were giggling even more. This disturbed him, more so seeing his youngest son giggle (Gaara really should never do certain things…). Once they left, Nagi helped Naruto clean up. It was then that he stopped short and caught a glimpse of the necklace hanging around Naruto’s neck, as she bent slightly and it slid from under her shirt and into view.

“Is that…”

Naruto blinked at him. “Hm?”

“Naruto, where did you get that necklace?”

She looked down and grasped the crystal necklace. “Ah, this? When I was younger, a blonde lady gave it to me, along with her life work and research, which was sealed into some leather bracelets. I found out it was the Slug Sannin Tsunade later on in the years. Pretty cool, huh?”

Nagi swallowed heavily. “C-cool…yeah.”

Cool was an understatement. Worrying was also something about this new information.

“Expensive too,” he added. “Could buy mountains with it, you know?”

And it was recognizable. People knew Tsunade’s necklace. They would wonder why Naruto had it, who she was, try to take it from her for the riches, accuse her of things because she had it when it was supposed to be Tsunade’s and with the older blonde, try to take _her_ , and-and –AND THERE WAS JUST TOO MANY VARIABLES!

“Kazekage-sama? Are you okay? You look worried and upset,” Naruto asked anxiously.

He gave her a weak smile, taking her necklace and slipping it back under her shirt.

“I’m okay. Just…keep that hidden, alright? Wouldn’t want someone to steal it or assume things…”

“Okay…”

Nagi inwardly fretted the rest of the time he helped clean. It did explain how she learned the medical jutsu she’d become so proficient at, and he should’ve figured Tsunade had to have some hand in it. But the necklace (and he couldn’t believe the other woman had given it to Naruto –not just because of the consequences of such an action, but also because it was hard to believe the woman would part with it in the first place). And he was worried about others finding out about it, someone recognizing it and maybe even Naruto, and how he could deal with the situation and set up precautions and preventions. It was dangerous to be in the possession of such a priceless artifact.

He went to sleep very troubled.

* * *

 

_This was nice. In fact, this felt **very** nice._

_Whoever he was kissing was really soft and smelled really good._

_Opening his eyes, Nagi first felt uncomfortable and horrified to find he’d been kissing Naruto, only for her to smile cheekily and to yank his head back down and push her mouth against his again. The tip of her tongue slid enticingly against his slightly parted lips, and he couldn’t help his moan as he wrapped his arms around her lower back. He moved up, gently lowering her onto the ground as he hovered above her, though he didn’t stop kissing her._

_He moved his lips away, smirking at her pout, before sliding his lips across her jaw and then planting hot and heavy open-mouthed kisses against her neck. At one such kiss on her collar bone, he stayed there and suckled a bit, before being unceremoniously yanked away._

_To his horror, he found himself staring into the furious eyes of one pissed off Namikaze Minato._

_“D-Dad!” he heard Naruto squeak, out of his view._

_“You! How dare you kiss Naruto’s precious lips!” his fellow Yondaime screamed at him._

_“To be fair, I wasn’t currently kissing her lips. I was kissing her –” he started dazedly, before barely escaping from the fist that had been aimed at his head._

_Also, what the hell was he thinking?! What kind of fucked up word vomit was that? Was he **trying** to get himself killed?_

_“Er, well, **I** was on your side,” he heard another familiar voice, and he looked to the side to see Karura grinning apologetically and waving a NagixNaruto flag, a huge heart emblazoned at the end._

_He stared blankly at her._

_“Um, Nagi, you should dodge that,” she pointed his way, and he again barely avoided the swipe of an unfortunately very familiar sharp edge of a Hiraishin kunai. “Go NagixNaruto! Banzai!” she whispered enthusiastically, smiling as she waved her flag wildly. “Dodge, dodge!”_

_Nagi was running around like a headless chicken, running from Minato and barely avoided getting cut into ribbons. From the corner of his eyes, he saw Naruto watching him in stunned horror._

_“NagixNaruto!”_

_“Karura, stop being **weird** ,” Nagi cried out, still running in a panic. This was so typically her. Of course, she would be all fangirl-ish and supportive and just plain weird…_

_“Aw, Nagi, don’t be like that! I’m just trying to be supportive! Don’t ruin all my fun!”_

_“Karura!”_

_“Go, go, Nagi!” she cheered louder, waving her flag higher. “Go for it and get the girl! I’m rooting for you!”_

_Nagi threw her a peeved look as he began to search his person for any Hiraishin tag, because Minato was starting to teleport to every place he ran to when he got to a few paces away from his last destination._

_He was then blindsided by a vicious kick from the side._

_Dazed and out of it, he lay on the floor in confusion, before he focused enough to look up to see Kushina standing above him with a sickly sweet smile on her face, eyes closed so he couldn’t fully discern her expression. From somewhere off to the side, he heard Karura ‘eep!’_

_“Na~gi –I **asked** you to **take care** **of** Naruto. I think you and I have a **very** different definition of ‘taking care of.’”_

_Her eyes opened to reveal a menacing look that he gulped at. And then Minato appeared beside her, also grinning sadistically._

_His eyes widened exponentially._

_He rolled away and shot to his feet, running like hellhounds was nipping at his feet._

_“I’M SORRY! IT JUST HAPPENED LIKE THIS!”_

Nagi screamed in terror, jolting up in his bed as he sweated profusely.

_It wasn’t his fault things ended up like this!_

Outside, his kids got out of their rooms and gathered in the middle of the hallway together, staring at his door dumbfounded.

“What’s going on?” Kankuro blinked.

“I think…Dad’s having a nightmare?” Temari looked uncertain.

“I didn’t think he _had_ nightmares!” Kankuro gaped.

“Naruto is coming,” Gaara informed them.

Indeed, Naruto dropped down near them, orange pajamas and all, and holding a kunai and a panicked expression on her face.

“Hold on, Kazekage-sama! I’m coming! I won’t let you get hurt! I’ll protect you!” and she proceeded to rush towards Nagi’s room urgently.

The three stared again.

“Should someone inform her that Father is just having a nightmare?” Gaara asked.

“Nah,” Kankuro shrugged. “She’ll find out and handle it.”

“And Dad can _handle_ her,” Temari said suggestively, smirking.

They all snickered and smirked at each other, before dispersing and heading back to their rooms.

Started 9/15/13 – Completed 9/16/13

 

_**Omake! (The Trouble With Clones aka The Mass Seduction Spree Part I)** _

Baki gaped. There was a Nagi there…and a Nagi there…and a Nagi there…

And there were an equal amount of Naruto’s to match.

And they were all finding victims with the populace of Suna, who were giggling and blushing as each Nagi and Naruto (together at that) flirted with each other and then with said victim, causing hearts to appear in people’s eyes, loud squeals to erupt (especially from fangirls), and all sorts of lecherous or inappropriate (and silly) reactions to occur.

Oh Kami, it was the return of the old Nagi the Heartthrob (from back in the days), combined with Naruto’s insanely irresistible “Princely Aura.”

Suna was doomed.

Started 9/16/13 – Completed 9/16/13

 

_**Omake! (Where Suna Evolves Because Of…)** _

Nagi blinked. There was a huge paycheck on his desk. Seriously.

Since when did Suna get such a huge payday like this?!

Gaping at it, he took it and put it away in a safe place until he could cash it into the Suna Reserves. When he traveled outside, he was once again gaping. What happened to his village?!

There were tourists, groups of people _planting trees_ and _plants_ everywhere, a huge area sectioned off nearby and a sign proclaiming it was going to become Suna’s new public “water park,” gardens suddenly popping up everywhere, and more merchants from seemingly all over the country suddenly occupying his bazaar.

“Hey, exciting, ain’t it?” Naruto suddenly popped up beside him.

“What’s…going on?” he asked weakly.

Naruto grinned. “I sold my necklace. You know, the one Tsunade gave me? You said it’s priceless! So I decided to sell it and get money to fix up Suna, pay off its debts, and up the economy. Awesome, huh?”

Nagi fainted.

Started 9/16/13 – Completed 9/16/13

 

_**Omake! (The Genjutsu Tales: Part VII)** _

Onoki was ready. He was going to grab Han and bring him back to Iwa. Who knows whatever happened to Roshi (he heard something about bananas and whatnot), but he would at least convinced Han to come back. He was tired of his blasted old friends being hermits.

He knew jinchuuriki’s weakness. _Genjutsu_.

He cast one quickly and had his Anbu at the ready behind him. It did not end as he expected or wanted.

“Choo-choo! Chugga chugga, choo-choo!”

Onoki face palmed. This was so embarrassing. How can he face Han, and tell him that the man started acting like a choo-choo train, complete with the furnace on his back letting out smoke?

“We’re…we’re leaving,” Onoki deadpanned.

“Sir?”

“Can you imagine what would happen if this ever got out?” Onoki demanded. “We’d become the laughingstock of the ninja world! No, no. We’re going to pretend this never happened. Cancel the genjutsu and then get the hell out of here. _This never happened_.”

He couldn’t imagine the backlash. He would never live it down.

Really –if people had found out (especially that old goat Hiruzen) that one of his jinchuuriki was easily defeated by a genjutsu and started to pretend he was a freakin’ choo-choo train, Iwa would never be taken seriously again!

He felt utter disaster fill him.

Started 9/16/13 – Completed 9/16/13


	14. Precious and Fragile Things

Nagi was close to pulling his hair out, when the situation worsened as Naruto burst through his door and looked around in alarm.

“Kazekage-sama, are you alright?! Where’s the intruder? Don’t worry; I won’t let anything happen to you!” Naruto growled protectively.

His stomach dropped and he just wanted to disappear off the face of the earth. And if not that, then he would like to just quietly crawl under the covers, pretend he didn’t exist, and if possible die.

But Kami, could she stop being so _sweet_?

“Naruto, I’m fine,” he said tiredly, slowly running a hand down his face.

Ugh. For her to come find him after _that_ nightmare (never mind how it started, which made him unable to look at her further)…Hell, for him to have had a nightmare in the first place, and for her to come witness the aftermath…

Someone up there really hated him.

“I had a bad dream,” he reluctantly admitted.

Immediately, she blinked at him before standing there awkwardly and her arms coming to lie limp by her side, kunai held loose in hand.

“Oh, um, okay. I, uh…should get back to bed,” she finished off lamely. “Good…good night.”

She left quickly and he groaned, hiding his face in his hands. Why did this have to happen to him?

He lied back and tried to fall asleep, but he couldn’t fall asleep now. Feeling too awake, he sighed and got out of bed. Deciding to try to do something to take his mind off the nightmare (and memories of a kiss that didn’t really happen), he went to go head out of his room. Hopefully, he’d end up feeling sleepy too.

But just as he opened his door, he stared in disbelief at the girl who fell back, still sleeping.

Apparently, Naruto had taken up guard against his door, sitting down cross-legged on the floor, and had fallen asleep in the meanwhile.

Face turning red, he looked away and his face was reticent (but extremely embarrassed) as he leaned down and picked her up, sliding an arm underneath her neck and the other under her knees. For his troubles, he got smacked in the face as Naruto turned in his arms and snuggled into his chest (this was turning more horrible by the second).

He swore he’d retaliate against all these problems stacking up against him, by stealing her noodles for the next two weeks. She was the cause of it all, damn it. Served her right.

Nagi reiterated that threat in his head when he had just placed Naruto into her bed and gone to pull the covers over her, when her arms shot out and she’d grabbed hold of him. In his surprise, she’d managed to pull him down and secure him to her side as she cuddled into him, having a vicious grip latched onto him and refusing to let him go. His face, unfortunately, was burning bright red by then.

“…Kaze-Nagi…don’t…stop…” he managed to hear some of Naruto’s mumblings.

He stared blankly at her, while his mind raced with thoughts it really shouldn’t be racing with. He put the brakes on that immediately (though that odd combined nickname thing she did with his title and name gave him a pause –probably as if she couldn’t make up her mind to call him ‘Kazekage-sama’ or finally ‘Nagi’ like he’d been needling her to do).

For all he knew, she was probably trying to get him to stop stealing her noodles in her dream (which he was definitely now planning on doing in real life).

Yes, that’s it. That’s what her dream was about.

He gingerly pried her arms off of him and quickly escaped, slipping a pillow back into her grip. He blinked as he watched her move her head closer to the pillow and rub her face against it, purring. Nagi just sighed, moving to go towards the door, when he froze at the sight of Gaara watching with wide eyes.

“…You move fast, Otou-san. Maybe you should wait until she’s awake though.”

Nagi twitched. “You little –!”

He let out some Gold Dust and had it dart towards Gaara, who (he swore this wasn’t just his imagination) briefly smirked before disappearing off with a sand shunshin. Nagi quietly cursed, though he glanced to make sure the commotion hadn’t woken up Naruto.

He swore his kids (and Naruto) were going to be the death of him.

Slipping out of her room, he headed to the kitchen and got himself a glass of wine. On second thought, he grabbed the bottle too, and then headed to the living room where he started a fire in the grate of the fireplace before sitting down on the floor and leaned against the couch. He sighed again, and took a large gulp of wine as he stared at the fire. It was rather cold that night…

Staring at the color of the wine, he vaguely heard Naruto’s voice laugh in his head and comment that it was the color of his hair.

She _would_ think so, wouldn’t she?

It was…a bit of a long time since he’d last had any alcohol. Since before the night with Yashamaru and when Gaara was younger actually…

He wasn’t much of a drinker. He knew when he drank, it was when things were bad. And when he drank, he drank a lot.

Nagi hadn’t needed to before. Though he had plenty of reasons and stress to have turned to the bottle, he had Karura and then he had Minato and Kushina. He even had Baki, who was still a bit of a panic-driven, clueless to things guy back then as he was now. And then near the end of the war, he’d also had first little Temari and then Kankuro.

And then he lost practically everyone and he didn’t know who to turn to, so he started binge drinking when he was really, really feeling messed up. He didn’t do it often, but he knew when he did, it just went south really quickly and really badly.

So then there was the whole Gaara and Yashamaru thing, and Tsunade was there and she got a huge big clue about his problem since she’d been diagnosing and healing him after the whole stupid “locked-in and deprivation tactic” he’d used with Gaara.

According to her, while he wasn’t dependent on alcohol and wasn’t a “classic alcoholic,” he was definitely an alcohol abuser, which still classified him as an alcoholic all the same. Particularly that when he did drink, he was a binge drinker and he just really drank heavily. While he was only at the edge of alcohol abuse and not yet into alcohol dependency, Tsunade warned him that there were still heavy consequences to his kind of drinking.

There were also supposedly two types of alcoholics: “those who have antisocial and pleasure-seeking tendencies, and those who were anxiety-ridden people who were able to go without drinking for long periods of time but were unable to control themselves once they started.” He qualified as the second.

Then Tsunade bluntly told him she knew that he hated work, hated being Kazekage, was sometimes resentful of the job (and village, but he won’t say anything aloud about that, even if she accused him of it in front of everyone), and was always stressed out due to the job. She then told him that if he kept being stressed returning to work and combined it with binge drinking, he was going to end up having a heart attack on a Monday.

To which she then even more bluntly told him that older men with a history of drinking, as well as those with depression, were high risks for suicide.

That he refused to answer her told her easily that yes, he was suffering from depression and that he had sometimes thought dying was a better alternative.

Of course she wasn’t a psychiatrist or anything, but she was capable of detoxing him and then threatening him with the ghosts of Karura, Kushina, and Minato. And Kushina’s ghost had been enough that time to get him to leave his office and go after Yashamaru and Gaara, so all three got him to reluctantly promise Tsunade he wouldn’t go back to it.

He’d thrown himself into the search for Naruto, while drearily continuing to look after the village. He was unhappy, but the search was enough to make him content and when he was single-mindedly focusing on it, there wasn’t any room for anything else. The only other thing that had kept him afloat had been his kids.

But then Naruto had come into his life and he actually felt alive and he wasn’t depressed anymore and drinking never entered his mind –

He just hadn’t counted on feeling the way he did about her.

He was very sure that Minato and Kushina really would kill him over this, and he was uncomfortable about it himself, because of her age and because she was… _Naruto_. She was someone he was happy talking to, being around, made _him_ happy –and he didn’t want to change things between them. He didn’t want to make things bad between them, or awkward or…

He didn’t want to lose her.

When Nagi looked down, his glass was finished and he’d realized about a quarter of the wine bottle was already empty. He grimaced and decided that maybe he should stop while he was ahead.

“N-Nagi-kun?” he heard the sleepy voice of Naruto and he looked over to the hallway’s entrance to see her standing there, rubbing at her eyes adorably with the sleeve of her pajama top.

“Naruto? What are you doing up? You should go back to bed,” he said, feeling completely tired.

“Woke up,” she murmured, stumbling slightly as she made her way towards him. She plopped down beside him and pulled her knees to herself, wrapping her arms around them. She started to rock slightly, and he could glimpse her eyes were a bit glazed.

“Naruto, are you alright?” he asked, becoming a bit worried as he reached out and gently touched her shoulder.

She froze and then the next thing he knew she was slowly turning to him…and then crawling on top of him and settling on his lap…and then she was right in front of his face and he could feel her breath fanning across his face…and there was this _look_ in her eyes and she was coming closer and he couldn’t move and he guiltily knew he didn’t want to stop her either and then she was –

She was kissing him. She was moving her lips against his and he wasn’t protesting, and suddenly her slender hands were moving up his arms and gripping his shoulders hard. His hands were moving on their own and gripping her waist, and she just _had_ to press down at the same time as she licked his lips. The groan he let out against her was only mildly embarrassing, but he could hardly care about it right then.

She kissed his ear and nibbled his earlobe, before pulling back and he was blinking dazedly in the aftermath.

“Consider that a gift, because I highly doubt my kit will be anywhere near as responsive to you like that for a long while, the oblivious gaki.”

He stiffened up and immediately looked at her, and she had red, slitted eyes with an amused smile that mocked him. He knew without being told that this was the Kyuubi no Youko.

He narrowed his eyes and had begun to move into a wary stance, when it held up its hands and rolled its eyes. Kyuubi in Naruto’s body snorted.

“Relax,” Kyuubi started, tone bored. “I haven’t usurped her body or anything. At least permanently. We have an agreement where I can be trusted enough to use her body to borrow her senses, to be able to have some form of freedom. Although usually when she’s aware and allows it –I just decided to not abide that now, just for little ol’ you; I got tired of watching this little dance around and also was more than a little entertained that one of the most powerful ninja in the Nations was acting lovesick for _my_ kit, of all people. Surprise, surprise. I really couldn’t let it pass.”

Nagi frowned, but kept watching it uneasily. “I…I wasn’t…I was keeping away.”

Kyuubi snorted again. “Yes, yes. Whatever. I don’t care, human. Besides, you should be grateful for it. You won’t get an opportunity like this for a long time. You should take advantage of it.”

“Absolutely not!” Nagi hissed, full out glaring at the bijuu who was occupying Naruto’s body. “Bring back Naruto’s body to bed and let her sleep. Just…just leave me the hell alone!”

The Nine-tailed Fox scoffed. “Fine. Suit yourself. It’s your loss. This is probably not going to repeat for a long time.”

Kyuubi in Naruto’s body got up languidly, stretching and cracking her neck smoothly. Guiltily, Nagi didn’t miss or look away from the small expanse of skin that showed as Kyuubi stretched and the bottom of Naruto’s top lifted up. When Nagi quickly moved his eyes away and accidentally looked up at Naruto’s face, Kyuubi was smirking knowingly.

“Night, human. Good luck with your pathetic affections.”

It left and Nagi was alone again. He stared down at his empty wine glass lying on the floor and reached out and morosely flicked it away.

He grabbed the bottle instead.

* * *

 

When he awoke, his head was pounding and someone was poking his shoulder. He miserably opened his eyes and was about to yell at the person who was annoying him, only to see Baki staring at him in worry.

“Sorry,” Baki muttered. “I should stop poking now.”

Nagi stayed quiet as Baki moved away, and sat up slowly after. His head began to pound even more and he wasn’t looking forward to rummaging around for some aspirin to help with his headache. His hangover was horribly massive, and judging by the completely empty wine bottle by his feet, he’d drunk himself to the point where he’d blacked out at some point. He’d probably had just completely passed out even.

“I’d accuse you of being a high-maintenance alcoholic, if I didn’t know you don’t drink like this all the time. But then again, as a high-maintenance alcoholic, you’d be acting normal and living and performing life with no signs, and keeping your drinking life separate.” Baki was still sounding accusatory as he scowled at Nagi.

“…You’re too loud.”

Baki sweatdropped and Nagi just groaned, plopping back sideways on the couch. He grabbed a pillow and smothered it onto his head, trying to block out everything.

“Well, just here to make sure you’re alive and that you’re alright.” Though Baki sounded unhappy, Nagi could hear the undertone of relief and he felt bad about snapping at the other and about this whole thing.

“You didn’t have to come here. I would’ve been fine,” Nagi muttered.

Baki snorted. “No, actually, I kinda did. Especially after Naruto came screaming and panicking into my apartment at four in the morning, and dragging me out of bed and all the way to here.”

Nagi’s eyes widened. “She was screaming and panicking? She…she saw me like this?”

Baki huffed, irritably grabbing the pillow and whacking him on the head with it, expounding on his headache.

“Yes. She was and she did. You really scared the shit outta her, Nagi. You really think she’s not going to freak out when you’re just passed out and unresponsive on the fucking couch?”

Nagi winced. “I…I didn’t want to upset her. Did my kids…?”

‘No,” Baki answered in a short tone. “Naruto, actually, thought of them. Didn’t want to panic and worry them, so when she found you like this, she went to me. After I got here, she made sure to distract and draw them away by making them breakfast. She covered for you and said you were working already, and she used her ‘Prince Aura’ to get them to go out and do separate jobs as a distraction. Kankuro and Gaara are currently detained at the greenhouses, and Temari is working Gate duty.”

Damn it. He was feeling crappy physically and emotionally right then. It was almost enough to make him want to go drink himself into a stupor again, but then again, that was what got him into this mess in the first place.

“I gotta go. Take the day off, Nagi. I’ll streamline and make sure things go smoothly at the office for you today. Just relax, enjoy the silence and the rest. A break will do you some good,” Baki patted his shoulder gently. “I’ll see you later.”

He left and Nagi was miserable. He couldn’t see how he could relax and let himself rest, when he was all agitated and pissed off at himself for all of these problems. Gritting his teeth, he harshly pressed the palms of his hands against his closed eyes.

First things first –a huge glass of water and aspirin.

He could probably sleep off a bit of his hangover for a few hours, a hot shower would help after, and then he could get some food in him…He’d probably be looking like he was back to normal, if not actually was.

But as he entered the kitchen, he couldn’t help but stop and flinch. Naruto was frantically scrubbing at a pan and looking like she was doing dishes, and hadn’t seem to notice him there or have heard him. He should have noticed that Baki hadn’t mentioned where Naruto was, and should have figured she might have still been in the house.

One more step was louder than he would have liked, but it alerted her to him being there and she whipped around, still holding pan and sponge in either hand. He flinched again as he noticed the obvious puffy red eyes and slightly red nose, and felt horrible that he’d made her cry and worry over himself so much.

“Naruto?” he hesitantly called out.

She fidgeted before finally putting the sponge and pan down on the sink, and washed her hands really quickly. She then grabbed a cup and filled it with cold water, before reaching close by and grabbing a pair of already set aside aspirin pills. She marched over to him and shoved her items at Nagi, still not talking or looking at him. He took the stuff from her, and quickly downed the pills before gulping down at least half of the glass.

“Naruto,” he tried again, putting down the glass on the nearest surface to him.

Except she’d interrupted him by painfully hitting his arm. Blinking, he began to gape before noticing she seemed to be trembling. When she looked up, he was horrified to find she was crying again. Frozen at the sight of her crying, he was a bit out of it and just watched as she rushed at him and began angrily hitting his chest. He tentatively grabbed her wrists and stopped her, but she wasn’t done.

“Idiot! Jerk! Dumbass! You’re so stupid! Don’t ever do something brainless like that again! You had me so worried!” she screamed at him, before she slumped against him and started crying against his chest.

He held her gently against himself, and inwardly cringed. He felt even more worse than before.

“I promise,” he swore. “I won’t ever go drinking like that. Or even ever, if you want.”

She clutched tighter onto him in response, starting to sniffle a bit. He squeezed her gently.

“I’m sorry,” he murmured. “Please forgive me?”

“Only if you really won’t ever do something like that again,” she muttered. “You…you really scared me. I was really worried. I thought you…”

“I know. I’m sorry,” he said again. “I…I never wanted you to feel like this. I didn’t want to hurt you like this. I’m so sorry I worried you so much. I didn’t want that at all.”

He could hear her swallow and let her pull away from him, with her rubbing at her eyes.

“Kazekage-sama is irresponsible…You shouldn’t do such reckless –”

But his eyes darkened and he’d just instinctively pushed her against the table and cornered her. And hell, he was already at this point, what was a little more?

Plastered against her, his bowed head over her shoulder was an ideal place for her to hear him clearly. And she was trapped, especially with his arms on either side of her and clutching tightly onto the table’s edge.

“Don’t call me that,” he growled.

“Call you w-what?” she inhaled sharply, taken aback at the turnaround of things.

He leaned back a little and angled his face close to hers, staring deeply into her eyes. She hid her shiver at the dark look in them, and at how intense they were at the moment.

“‘Kazekage-sama,’” he scowled heavily. “Don’t call me that. If you’re going to call me that in front of people, fine. I’ll deal with it. But like this, alone…even if you won’t call me Nagi, you could always go back to calling me Tenoh. It’s okay. I wouldn’t mind. Call me Tenoh if you want, but I _don’t_ want to be _Kazekage-sama_ to you,” he voiced firmly, and he really wished she would catch onto the pain in his voice.

As he moved back just the slightest, he could see her face was tilted upwards to see him, and her eyes were still a bit watery. How strange how fragile she seemed right then, given how she normally was. But she’d always been fragile around and only with him…

_‘How precious you are to me…’_

He moved his head closer to hers again, and he could see her eyes widening the closer he got. He hovered before moving his head and sliding his cheek against hers, stopping there and just resting against her. He breathed in deeply and inhaled her scent contentedly.

She didn’t know what was wrong with her heart.

* * *

 

The day was spent quietly and together. He’d nudged her over back to the sink, and had taken to drying the dishes as she washed (though she was washing much less frantically as she had been earlier). The dish washer was neglected for the time being, as the activity kept them grounded and allowed them quiet and a time to comfortably be next to each other.

He went ahead with his original plans, and after his shower he’d walked out to find a small meal set aside for him on the kitchen table for lunch. He ate quickly and searched out Naruto, who was quietly sitting on the couch and curled up in a ball, staring off into space and looking troubled. He felt guilt swell up in him again and he gingerly came over and sat next to her. He pulled her close to him and she silently nestled comfortably to his side.

“I didn’t have anyone I was really close to in my life,” she murmured. “You were the first, you know. And then everyone else followed. But you…Tenoh was the first person I ever really let in. If you go away, I don’t know what I would do.”

“I promise I’m not going anywhere,” he murmured back to her, squeezing her to his side. “I promise.”

He’d always been careless about himself and his own health before, but it seemed that he had better take better care of himself, if only so she wouldn’t worry and become sad.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered again, and was grateful to find she’d fallen asleep on him. He swallowed regretfully and kissed her forehead, before staring off in deep thought. Eventually, he’d fallen asleep as well.

His kids came late in the day, just as sun was setting in Suna.

“Yo! Dad, are you ‘messing around?’” Kankuro yelled out as his greeting, entering the home before either of his two siblings. “Naruto, I got you some herbs and spices!”

When they heard no answer (especially an irritated yell from their dad and maybe an excited one from Naruto), they traded worried looks and quietly moved further into their home. To their surprise, they saw the two curled up together on the couch in the living room. Well, Naruto was curled up, but their dad was holding her tightly to him.

“Hey, I guess they got together?” Kankuro asked unsurely.

Gaara frowned. “We don’t know for sure. We shouldn’t say anything unless they confirm it.”

“Aw. Why not?” Kankuro almost pouted.

Temari hit his shoulder. “No, Kankuro-baka! If they’re not, then we just messed things up for Dad and scared Ouji-sama off!”

“Eh, she does seem skittish about these types of things, wouldn’t she?” Kankuro agreed after thinking about it for a moment.

“Let’s just scrounge around for food for dinner and go to sleep,” Gaara suggested. “It would be best to leave them here and they’ll wake up on their own, or one of them will and either wake the other up or, Dad most probably, carry the other to bed.”

“We can’t lift either of them up anyway. Er, maybe Naruto though…” Kankuro said thoughtfully.

They quietly slipped away, and thankfully found leftovers for them to eat for dinner. And then it was off to bed for Kankuro and Temari, while Gaara wandered around the home sleeplessly, like usual. Only this time, he found his father awake and staring contemplatively (and longingly, if Gaara saw correctly) at Naruto, who he hovered over slightly.

Nagi was just quiet, despite having felt his son’s presence enter the room. His gaze hadn’t left Naruto’s face from the moment he woke up, and now, leaning over her, his eyes were drawn to her lips.

He wanted to kiss her again.

But he couldn’t and wouldn’t lean down and take her lips for his own, not again. Despite how much he was aching to just move just a bit closer to her…He was about to move away when Naruto’s head gently moved towards him. His eyes widened and his head shot up as he immediately looked up to find Gaara, only for his son to be looking back at him steadily.

A look of understanding was clear in Gaara’s honeydew eyes and Nagi flinched.

Nagi didn’t look away from Gaara for the longest while, and his son stood there and stared back. He felt absolutely torn…

He turned back to Naruto and closed his eyes, and a second later felt the soft lips of the girl he wanted touched against his. He had kept back, refrained from leaning down and kissing her, but if she would just move to him…

Nagi didn’t remember ever feeling as grateful as he did then to Gaara, than ever so far in his life.

Started 9/23/13 – Completed 9/30/13


	15. The Toads Who Desired a Prince

When Naruto woke up, she couldn’t believe her eyes, which had widened in shock as her face turned a deep red in embarrassment. She stared up into the sleeping face of Nagi, and she dimly realized that he had his arms around her.

It took a few seconds for her to remember what happened the night before, though she didn’t know how or when they’d ended up in _this_ position. She was really warm and comfortable though…

She experimentally tried to slip away, but Nagi just held on tighter and mumbled something incoherently. She gave up and after hesitating a moment, she tentatively laid her head back on his chest and snuggled to his side.

It really was a comfortable spot.

It wasn’t a wonder she fell back to sleep. In fact, the two of them were still sleeping like that by the time Baki slipped into the home unannounced, only to see those two still comfortably sleeping and the Sabaku children sitting around and eerily watching the sleeping duo.

“You brats look like stalkers.”

The three looked up and stared at him.

“We were debating on whether or not to take a picture of them,” Temari smiled widely.

Baki scoffed, but a camera immediately appeared in his hand and he took a quick picture of the sleeping two on the couch. The kids went back to staring at them.

“Where’d the camera come from?” Kankuro asked dumbly.

“Do you keep it around for something like this?” Temari laughed, joking.

Baki scowled. “I just had it.”

He wasn’t going to admit he had just started to carry it around for _exactly_ these kinds of times, ever since Nagi vaguely admitted, without saying, how he felt about Naruto.

“Come on, stalkers. I’ll treat you to breakfast. Let’s leave these two here,” Baki offered, rolling his eyes.

“Ohhh, awesome!” Kankuro cheered, pumping a fist.

“Shh,” Gaara glared at him. Kankuro looked back at his brother sheepishly.

The small group quickly left together and it was soon quiet in the home again. Not too long after, Nagi woke up this time. He grimaced as he looked down, realizing that he had somehow begun to hold Naruto in his sleep and that they’d ended up in this close position. And judging by the silence in his home and the lack of any chakra signatures around, his kids weren’t there and had most probably seen the two of them like this.

“Damn it all,” he muttered.

Gently pulling away from Naruto, he settled her more comfortably on the couch, before he also left the house. He came back not too long after, holding a bag of hot containers filled with ramen that he put on the kitchen table. Then he came back to Naruto and softly shook her shoulder.

“Hey. Hey, Naruto. Wake up.”

She murmured something before sighing and opening her eyes slowly.

“Ah, Kaze – ” at his sharp look, she awkwardly cleared her throat and began again. “Ten…Tenoh. Um, what’s wrong?”

“I got breakfast,” he smiled slightly at her. “Ramen in the kit. You want to eat with me?”

Her eyes lit up and she nodded enthusiastically. He led the way to the kitchen and she followed, a slight bounce to her feet. Once they settled into their seats and had begun eating, did the awkwardness between them set in again.

Casting around for a topic to talk about and make things not awkward, Naruto brought up the first thing that came up in her mind, and that she’d been thinking about these days.

“Um, do you have a Summons?” she asked, surprising him.

“A Summons? No actually,” he answered, surprising her this time. “I wanted one back then, and I was going to get one…but there were a lot of other things I had to focus on, so I never got to it.”

“Oh. Do you know the hand signs though?” she was still curious.

Nagi pushed his bowl away. “Yeah, I do. Did you want to see them?”

She brightened up and gave him a large smile. “Hai, hai! Please?”

He chuckled and brought his hands up, and then showed her the hand signs. After going at a fast and then normal rate as examples, he went and did it slowly, sign by sign for her.

“And then you smack your hand down on a surface. You’d also have to bite your thumb to get some blood, right before you do the hand signs,” he instructed, amused by her attentiveness and awe.

“Hey. For all your complaining about hating lecturing, you’re really damn good at it, you know that?” she teased him after.

Nagi blinked before scrunching up his nose. “You’ll never get me into that Academy ever again. Not if I can help it.”

“Not even for educational purposes, or visiting it and seeing how things are?”

Nagi huffed. “If they want me in a class, they can just do a stupid fieldtrip over to my office or something. Never again, I tell you. Never again. I will never step foot in the Academy ever.”

She snickered at him. “I can’t say I share your sentiments. Of course I hated the work, but…”

The red head glared at her. “Of course it’s different for you, _Ouji-sama_. Everything would go smoothly or be made to go smoothly, and everyone was nice and adored you, and bending backwards for you, Girl-With-the-Academy-Cult.”

“…Eheh?” she smiled guiltily.

He pouted. “It’s so not the same. Of course you like the Academy! You get fond memories because you have some weird following! I hated the Academy. Boring, too much work, too much writing, too much blah blah blah.”

“That’s normal for most students, isn’t it?” she grinned in amusement.

“Duh. Except it was extremely worse for me. School is supposed to be hell, and no one should like it. Minus you, but you and the whole thing is abnormal – _you_ had an abnormal situation and experience in school, so it can’t count.”

Naruto gave him a shrug, but she patted his hand in consolation.

“Tenoh, there was one other thing I’ve been wondering about,” she hesitantly brought up

Nagi nodded, though he wasn’t looking at her and had been in the process of eating some of his noodles.

“About that time in Wave, where you were acting weird in that village and before, and then you kissed me and your send off to me going to Gato’s base…and then afterwards when you got me back from the base…Um, what was all that about?”

Nagi promptly choked on his ramen and started hacking and coughing. Alarmed, Naruto leaped over to him and began pounding slightly on his back, trying to help him clear his airways.

“C-clone,” he managed to choke out, feeling anxious and fidgety.

Naruto blinked and nodded knowingly. “Oh yeah. I know how they go crazy sometimes. Those rascals.”

Nagi snorted, glowering. Yeah, crazy. That’s it. Crazy.

He didn’t know if he was upset over his clone still, or that she was dismissing his clone (that reflected his very real feelings, he now admitted and understood that) as crazy and not seriously considering that he might have feelings for her.

His priorities were kind of all mixed up. And this was all rather depressing actually.

Nagi felt a cloud form over his head and rain down, while Naruto looked on in concern at him.

The door to their house suddenly slammed open, and they could immediately hear loud voices.

“I’M HOME, DAD, NARUTO!” Kankuro could be heard hollering into the home.

Nagi twitched, while Naruto stared bemusedly.

“You knucklehead! Why do you have to be so loud and obnoxious?” Temari could be heard berating the other loudly.

“Shut up, Bun-chan!”

There was a screech, some loud crash sound, and then absolute silence.

“Uh, we’ll pay for that, Dad…” Kankuro laughed nervously.

Nagi face planted into his hands and thought it wasn’t too late to pretend they weren’t his kids and shuffle them off to someone…probably Baki.

Gaara was the first into the kitchen, where they were at. He held up a bag.

“We brought leftovers. We can eat it for lunch so that Naruto doesn’t have to cook, and we don’t starve or get poisoned,” Gaara said, as usual very monotone.

“Aw, that’s sweet, Gaara. Thanks, guys,” Naruto said, smiling widely.

Nagi just glared at his son.

“One more crack about my cooking…” Nagi muttered.

Just then, Kankuro and Temari came in next, with Baki following close after.

“Eh, Team Kickass is here to pick up their third member!” Kankuro announced, holding out a finger.

Sand crept up and took hold of Naruto, wrapping around her waist and tugging her towards the group.

Naruto stared blankly at it. “Gaara, if your sand isn’t sanitized before touching my person…” she said threateningly.

Gaara stubbornly kept his expression close and didn’t answer.

Shivering, Naruto broke away from the sand and darted back over to Nagi. As payback for stealing her noodles while she’d been in the process of getting “captured,” Naruto ruffled his hair roughly and glared down at him.

He raised an eyebrow. “It was payback,” he said simply, somehow similar to her thoughts.

“What? What did _I_ do?” she blinked in confusion.

“Tormenting me,” Nagi deadpanned, getting up and shuffling her over to her team. “Now go on with your team.”

“But I haven’t finished my noodles yet!” Naruto yelled in panic, as she was already being dragged away by Baki.

“I’ll finish them,” Nagi told her, all serious-faced and toned, while inwardly he was cackling in his revenge for everything.

“Nooooo!” she went dramatic on them.

Once they were gone, Nagi finally relaxed and let himself look haggard.

“Geez, Dad. You look like crap. And really exhausted…Don’t tell me Naruto kept you up all night?” Temari’s worried tone from the start turned into a tease that had Nagi glaring at her.

“I’m going to pretend you did not just say that double entendre and go to sleep. Otherwise, I would be sending you on D-ranks all week.”

Temari shrugged. “If I’m on them with ‘Team Kickass slash BAMF.’”

“Temari, just get out of my sight, won’t you?”

She finally left him behind, snickering, while he trudged to his room.

And as those two were left behind, the group that had left them had finally made their way to their training ground. There, Baki was assaulted by Kankuro, who had tackled and clamped on tightly to the sensei.

“Baki-senseiiii! Where’s those clone jutsu you promised?” Kankuro wasn’t going to give up.

At that, Gaara also focused intensely at the teacher, who had begun to sweat nervously at the intense glare of the One-tailed jinchuuriki. Naruto cleared her throat and they all turned to look at her, with Baki inwardly thanking her for the interruption.

“Didn’t you learn the regular bunshin in the Academy?” Naruto raised an eyebrow at them.

Kankuro scoffed. “Bah! That’s boring. I want a _real_ clone jutsu.”

Naruto sighed in exasperation. “What about the Sand Clone? It’s one of the choices for the Suna-versed jutsu you have to learn.”

Kankuro looked sheepish while Gaara looked away and pretended to study the sky.

“It was the Academy,” Kankuro muttered. “It’s _school_. School sucks and who wants to do more work?”

She blinked in confusion. “But then what did you do to pass that part of the Genin Exam?”

“…Chakra strings?” the pupper user revealed weakly. “It was one of the choices…”

“Ehhh?! But that’s cheating!”

Kankuro held up his hands in surrender. “No, no! I-it was one of the choices, I said! It’s never been part of the school curriculum. I just, uh, already knew how to do them…”

Naruto glared at him before turning her glare on Gaara, who flinched. “And you! What did you do?”

He hesitated before reluctantly holding a hand out and forming a shuriken.

“Sand…Shuriken,” he mumbled, tossing it tentatively at her before looking away and pretending he wasn’t involved.

“UGH!” Naruto grabbed the two of them and put them in a chokehold. “I should-should…spank you two! Dammit, you deserved to be spanked or something, you lazy idiots!”

The two of them looked at each other and shared a quick grin.

“Yes, Kaa-chan!”

“You two! And why are you grinning? Don’t test me! I really will spank you both!”

Baki interrupted them, finally having gathered his bearings.

“Alright you three, time to get started on training.”

Naruto let go of them abruptly and bounced up to Baki, grinning widely. It made him nervous.

“Ne, Baki-sensei. I learned something new and wanted to try it! Look, look!”

And she bit her thumb and began doing a very familiar set of hand signs, before slamming her hand onto the ground.

Naruto promptly disappeared.

Kankuro screeched, while Gaara’s eyes widened.

“Don’t worry, Kaa-chan! We’re coming! We’ll save you!”

And, disbelievingly, copying Naruto, _both_ of the boys did the Summoning jusu and disappeared as well. Baki stared dumbly at the spot where his genin had disappeared.

“Fuck,” he cursed.

* * *

 

Naruto glanced around in awe, seeing the vibrant colors of the world she was in with wonder. It was all lush greens and pretty blues, with every other color spotting about like paint being randomly splattered about. She could see many waterfalls and plants, as well as tall trees littering the place.

“Eh? Who are you?”

Naruto turned around and stared.

“Huh? A frog?”

The creature croaked indignantly. “I’m no frog. I’m a toad! There’s a difference, ya know!!!”

Naruto blinked and then shrugged.

_10 minutes later…_

“WAHAHAHA! You’re a funny girl!”

Naruto didn’t know how or when, but she was suddenly surrounded by a ton of toads. What was once just one toad, had multiplied until there were more than a dozen of them hanging around her, all in various sizes and personalities. Well, at least she was having a good time and partying with them for her troubles.

Suddenly, there were loud thumps and miniature earthquakes coming their way, and Naruto (surprised and wary) looked around for the disturbance. She gaped at the sight of a giant toad, the biggest yet, coming their way and towering over her by far. She could guess he must be the boss toad or something.

“What’s this?” his voice was loud and booming, his attention having been drawn by the loud entertainment they were indulging themselves in. “Who is this girl?”

“Uzumaki Naruto, nice to meet you,” she said dazedly, bowing in greeting.

“Ohohoho, a polite one, eh? Jiraiya-baka could learn a thing or two from this girl! Well, since you introduced yourself, I should too! I am Gamabunta!”

When he started laughing uproariously, Naruto inwardly cringed. What had she gotten herself into?

It was sometime later, when she’d finally gotten used to Gamabunta’s loud and rowdy behavior, that he was taking her to go see the “Elders.” Whoever they were.

It turned out that they were small toads, much smaller than Gamabunta, but still actually much more powerful and had more authority than the boss toad (she’d been right about that).

“Hello, child. I am Shima and this is Fukasaku,” the female toad introduced the two of them.

“We are the Great Toad Sages,” Fukasaku continued off. “Why don’t you introduce yourself and tell us how you got here?”

Naruto gulped and related her stupid idea to just do the Summoning Seals, and how that somehow got her there. She didn’t expect them to all burst out in laughter though.

“Oh dear, it’s just like Jiraiya-bozu, isn’t it, dear?” Shima looked to her husband.

Fukasaku snorted. “Exactly like that brat.”

Naruto practically had question marks all over her head as she listened. Gamabunta took pity on her, noticing her reaction, and explained who this Jiraiya was and what he did that was exactly the same thing as what she did.

“Oh,” she was surprised and rather relieved. If a renowned and powerful ninja like Jiraiya of the Sannin had done exactly what she’d done, then what she’d decided to do wasn’t really all that stupid and terrible a decision, was it? Right?

Why was she getting the feeling she was entirely wrong…

“Um, why are you telling me all this?” Naruto asked hesitantly. “You’ve only known me for awhile. Isn’t it bad to say so much to a stranger like me?”

“Well, for one, you’re just a little girl,” Fukasaku snickered, while Naruto’s face turned red and she pouted, glaring at him.

“Two, you wouldn’t be here if you weren’t meant to be, sweetie,” Shima told her gently.

“And…we’ve been sort of forewarned of your future presence here,” Gamabunta said cryptically, confusing the Suna kunoichi.

“What do you mean?” Naruto looked at them strangely.

“Never mind that. This is an unprecedented event,” Fukasaku chortled. “One, an occurrence of a human actually coming here, but also _several_ humans! Which is another unusual occurrence in of itself!”

“What! What’s that supposed to mean?” Naruto was getting more and more confused, and just the slightest bit panicking.

“Apparently, two more humans have entered the Animal Spirit plane –a boy with makeup and another boy with a tattoo on his head.”

Suddenly, Naruto felt very faint.

Her teammates had followed after her.

* * *

 

Gaara was not sure what happened. One moment he was in their team’s training ground, and then Naruto had done some kind of jutsu and disappeared. And then recklessly, he and Kankuro, without communicating with each other even, had shared the thought of rescuing her and coming up with one solution. Doing the same jutsu and to follow her.

Of course, they hadn’t even thought of whether or not they’d go to the same place as her, or what exactly she had been doing…

For some reason, he was now surrounded by a bunch of raccoons, and no Kankuro or even Naruto in sight.

“You must be Gaara-sama,” one of them peered closer at him.

Gaara’s eyes widened. “You… _talk_?”

Apparently, not only was he surrounded by raccoons, he was surrounded by talking raccoons. It just kept getting better and better…

One of them bit his leg and he twitched, lifting his leg and trying to shake it off. For some reason, his sand was just milling about restlessly.

“What the hell?”

“Ah, well you see,” the one that talked first watched, sweatdropping at the scene. “You have not reconciled with Shukaku-sama, so you’re not _quite_ welcomed.”

The group he was with all started growling and making loud, discontent noises. He backed up warily, before turning tail and running. The raccoon group started chasing him.

The others had better be having better luck or else.

Well, on his brother’s end, it was something this –

Kankuro opened his eyes, and he stared in confusion. He was moving…but he wasn’t on the ground. In fact, he was somehow in the air.

“Oh my Goooood! What’s happening?! Where am I?!” he screamed, flailing about.

“Shut up, human, before I eat you,” something rasped from above.

He tensed and slowly lifted his head. And then he screamed.

“AHHHHHHHHHHHH!”

And then he remembered what else the huge crow that was biting onto his shirt to carry him had said.

“Don’t eat me! I have worms! I’m terribly sick! I’m disgusting! I won’t taste good!” Kankuro continued to further babble and then started rambling nonsensically.

“I SAID SHUT UP BEFORE I EAT YOU!”

Kankuro’s mouth snapped close and he sniffled miserably as he continued to be flown off to some unknown location, probably to be eaten and pecked to death.

It was a good thing for Gaara that at least _he_ was rescued. Oddly enough, by a fox.

A fox with two tails?

* * *

 

“They did what? Wait, Naruto is _gone_?” Needless to say, Nagi was freaking out about this new development.

Baki awkwardly cleared his throat. “Um…yeah. Naruto performed the hand signs for the Summoning jutsu somehow. And then disappeared. And then those two idiot kids of yours followed after. You know, I didn’t know that was what happened, or could happen, if you perform Kuchiyose without having signed a Summoning Contract…” he added as an afterthought.

Nagi suddenly gained a thoughtful and concentrated look on his face, before without warning, he too performed Kuchiyose and then disappeared without another word to Baki.

Baki cursed again.

“Not again, damn it!”

Started 11/1/13 – Completed 11/26/13


	16. The Desert King's Frog

This was not what Naruto had planned when all of that happened. She was being reckless, sure…but since when didn’t she do crazy things? It was normal for her.

But her teammates didn’t usually do reckless things, at least without any prompting.

Honestly, following her like that. They didn’t even know what she was doing! At least she knew what she’d been attempting and had done so without following completely blindly like they had.

“Naru-chan? You don’t have to look like the world ended…” Gamabunta scratched the back of his head worriedly.

“Don’t worry, they’re fine,” Shima further reassured her. “Actually, you can probably pick them up in the world of the Fox Spirits. You can get them and bring them here, if you’d like?”

“Hm…Shouldn’t we all get back to the human plane though? I don’t think our disappearance will be taken well…” Naruto noted to herself. “Plus, I don’t think Jiraiya-sama would be happy to see foreign shinobi with his summons…”

“He’ll be fine actually,” Fukasaku waved her off dismissively. “And though you can’t quite summon us just yet, unless you meet Jiraiya and have him let you sign the Toad Summoning Contract, we can still at least teach you the Frog Kata and Sage Mode.”

“Ehh?! Why would you want to do that? I don’t belong to Konoha or anything –isn’t that against the rules?!” Naruto’s eyes widened.

“Trust us, we don’t mind and it will be all okay,” Shima smiled widely.

Naruto was so not going to look a gift horse in the mouth, especially since her taijutsu definitely needed some kind of boost.

“On the other hand, I’m sure the Kitsune will be definitely happy to get you to sign a Summoning Contract with them,” Shima continued, making Naruto look at her in surprise.

Huh. Must be because of Kyuubi.

“I’ll bring you there,” Gamabunta offered. “Hop on, Naru-chan.”

Getting on Gamabunta, she relaxed and awaited the travel to the Fox Spirits plane.

* * *

 

Nagi shook his head and rubbed his hand down his face, feeling disoriented. On second thought, this might not have been a good idea…but never mind that. He now had to focus and figure out how to find his kids and Naruto. He had to focus and think about his self-appointed mission.

He heard a rumbling above him and saw a huge shadow cover him. He looked up and paled.

“Oh fuck,” Nagi tensed up and gawped at where the sky should have been.

Instead, a huge, flying serpent thing was above him and glaring down at where he was.

“Puny mortal, who are you and why are you here?” the thing actually spoke.

“Uh…” Needless to say, Nagi’s communication skills weren’t working right then.

The thing grumbled and then he –Nagi was pretty sure it was a he –moved his body in a circle before shooting down and opening his mouth, looking like he was going to devour Nagi.

“WAIT! Wait, wait, wait! I just wanted to go looking for my kids! And Naruto! And who are all obviously not here! _Please let me go and don’teatme_!” Nagi practically scrambled from the ground and began running, trying in vain to escape the serpent.

In short, it wasn’t long until Nagi ran into a dead end and was surprised he even lasted that long.

That said, when he looked around, the serpent monster was nowhere in sight. He blinked.

“Huh…”

“Boo,” a less loud version of the serpent’s voice deadpanned right next to him and Nagi jumped away from the source, staring warily at the man-serpent hybrid. “Who are you?” he asked again.

“Sabaku no Nagi, Kazekage of Sunagakure,” Nagi cautiously introduced himself. “I’m here because I came to collect some wayward kids of mine, and um…Naruto,” he ended up muttering, trying to ignore how his cheeks went slightly red.

What the hell? Was he some kind of stupid schoolboy or something?

The hybrid snorted. “Of course. The now legendary tale of four idiotic humans all traversing into the realm of Summoning Animals and the Spirit Plane.”

“Spirit…Plane?” Why did it seem to Nagi that that had become separated on purpose?

The serpent-man rolled his eyes. “Yes, Spirit Plane. The lot of you are being redirected to the Fox Spirits plane, due to one of your group,” _‘Naruto,’_ Nagi winced, “while you, yourself, are in the Dragon Spirits realm.”

“Oh,” Nagi said simply, rather dumbstruck about that fact. “I see. Er, well then, if you could just point me in the direction of the Fox Spirits place…”

The other raised an eyebrow. “You, as the others, entered their separate planes for a reason. All of you belonged and were meant to be there. _You_ are meant to be here, puny mortal.”

“You could stop calling me that,” Nagi muttered, twitching.

“No,” he said bluntly. “You, however, may call me Ryuujin.”

“The dragon god?” Nagi asked weakly.

“ _The_ Dragon God,” Ryuujin stated smugly, with a just as equally smug grin.

“Right. Anyway! Where was that direction to the Kitsune you said?” Nagi whistled and turned, starting to walk away.

Ryuujin’s grin twitched in annoyance, and he reached out and roughly grabbed Nagi’s shoulder.

“Not so fast, you puny mortal. _You_ are our new Summoner.”

“...” Nagi stared at Ryuujin in disbelief. “You’re kidding, right? There’s never been a _dragon_ summoner before. There’s no such thing.”

Ryuujin glared at him. “Of course I’m serious, stupid mortal! You are the first, duh. No one else has been worthy and has entered our realm. Spirit Realm Summoning did not exist prior to this time –there isn’t even physical contracts in your world for us, fool!”

Nagi stared at him. “Oh.”

“‘Oh’ is right,” Ryuujin said sarcastically.

“…Isn’t there some kind of test or something I need to pass?” Nagi remembered that normal Summonings required some kind of test to accept a new summoner.

“Hn, no,” Ryuujin lifted his nose. “One, you appeared here. As I stated, you are meant to be here. There is something to be said for that. And unlike regular Summons, we are omniscient. We know _everything_. Of course we’d know already if you were worthy or not, without some test.”

“Okay,” Nagi was rather relieved actually. He was pretty sure a normal summons’ test was hard; he was sure that these ‘Spirit Summons’ would have been impossible.

“That said, just for the heck of it, and because it’ll be amusing, to officially initiate you as our Summoner, I’ll, on behalf of my brethren, make you endure a little something,” and then Ryuujin transformed into a miniature version of his draconic self, and flew towards Nagi, biting down on his finger.

“Ow! What the hell?!” Nagi shook his hand in a panic, trying to shake Ryuujin off. “Are you a freakin’ snake or something?!”

The dragon bit down even harder at that.

* * *

 

This place was really pretty, Gaara noted to himself as he ate his bowl of rice.

Honestly, it was rather peaceful too.

Currently, he and Kankuro were sitting at a table, and were enjoying the peace and calm after the terror they’d gone through. Kankuro looked especially roughed up, sporting cuts, bruises, and scratches everywhere, but sporting an accomplished grin. Apparently, he’d gotten the Crow Summoning Contract.

 _“At least it’s not an Ant Contract or something,”_ Kankuro had told him earlier, when he’d first arrived after Gaara. He had a feeling that statement had something to do with Kankuro’s Ant and Crow puppets.

“Guys, guys! You’re here!” they heard Naruto’s voice, and they stood up quickly, turning to her in relief.

They sweatdropped when they saw her riding atop a huge toad that was practically stomping their way.

“Gaara! Kankuro! This is Gamabunta! Gamabunta, those two are my teammates,” Naruto enthusiastically did introductions.

Suddenly, their father appeared in midair, and then dropped to the ground. He looked frazzled and was panicking as he whirled his head around and was trying to gain his bearings.

“How did I do that?! What happened? Where am I!”

“We are in the Kitsune realm, where the kitsune live. You teleported here, as granted by me –though you can only use that ability in these planes,” they heard a voice they couldn’t see speak out.

“Get off my finger, damn it!” their father shouted.

They all then saw a miniature _dragon_ climb up from their father’s hand, their arm, and then somehow all the way onto Nagi’s head, settling comfortably onto the nest of red hair.

“Get off my head!” Nagi tried to pry the thing off of his head, but it only clamped down hard on Nagi’s locks. Eventually he gave up, twitching irritably.

“Tenoh~ You’re here too?” Naruto’s head popped up into view above him, over the top of a large toad’s head.

While Kankuro and Gaara wondered why Naruto was still calling their dad ‘Tenoh,’ Nagi tilted his head back and he gaped at Naruto and the large toad she was on.

“Yeah…I kind of followed after you guys…” Nagi muttered, not quite out of shock yet.

“What? How’d you do that?” Kankuro stared at him.

He cleared his throat. “By, uh…doing the same thing.”

“Ahaha! Now that’s a family!” Gamabunta chortled.

Kankuro grinned. “Hehe, yep! Now we just gotta get Temari to do it too!”

“Then it will be a complete set,” a smirk briefly flitted onto Gaara’s lips. “Otou-san, Temari-neesan, Kankuro-niisan, myself, and _Kaa-chan_.”

Nagi had already been heading over to his sons when Gaara said that, and in consequence had stumbled badly. He stared at his sons with wide eyes, while they looked back innocently. He looked at them in betrayal before the look turned into one that promised retribution. He’ll give those two hell when they got back home…

Naruto had Gamabunta suddenly toss her into the air, to which she began freefalling.

“Catch me, catch me, Tenoh!” she laughed loudly, holding out her arms.

Nagi’s eyes widened again and he got into a ready position to catch Naruto, holding out his arms too and bending his spread legs. He forcefully caught her safely, though he stumbled back a bit, while her arms and legs wrapped around him. Her hair falling forward and onto his face, the warm feel of her cheek against his, her breath tickling his skin…His nose flared.

Her smell of oranges and rosemary invaded his senses immediately.

Naruto pulled away slightly and was grinning widely at him, though she still held on.

“Good catch, Tenoh!” she cheered.

“Idiot, you could have really gotten hurt,” he scolded lightly. “What if I hadn’t caught you?”

But he still turned and began to walk towards the other two. He almost put her down, before he hesitated and pretended to have forgotten and carried her along, his arms tightening around her. His two sons gave him thumbs up and winks, and he glowered at them. When he reached them, Naruto extracted herself from his arms, and landed on her feet. He ignored the disappointed feeling he had, and instead focused on two foxes, both with two tails, coming towards them and bringing two more bowls of rice.

“What’s with the rice?” Naruto raised an eyebrow.

“You know…Inari…rice?” Kankuro shrugged. “I’m guessing it’s somethin’ to do with the rice god Inari, what with all the foxes and all…”

“Ah. Although, I shouldn’t be too surprised. I’m guessing this part may have to do with me,” Naruto sighed.

“Eh, with you? Why?” Kankuro started to scrutinize her, to see if he could see what she meant just by looking at her.

“Because you know. I’ve got the Kyuubi no Youko inside of me and all,” Naruto told him nonchalantly.

Kankuro and Gaara both promptly started choking on the rice they had been eating. Nagi stared at her, and made a note to emphasize heartily to her to not so easily spread information like that.

“Oh,” Kankuro just said dumbly.

Gaara remained silent, but was watching Naruto speculatively.

“Awkward,” Ryuujin suddenly spoke up from atop Nagi’s head.

They all turned to stare at the dragon god, making Nagi twitch.

“Assuming we all came to our realms for a reason, which could be guessed…I believe we all were meant to have them as Summons. Kankuro said he has the Crow Summoning Contract, and I would have had the Raccoons’ had I, apparently, been on good terms with Shukaku,” Gaara speculated about their situations.

Well, unlike Naruto, it was a well-known fact that Gaara held Shukaku in him.

“Meh, I would have signed the Toad Contract, but I’d have to hunt down Jiraiya-sama and get him to let me sign it first,” Naruto pouted. “But they want me to stay awhile and learn Frog Kata and something called Sage Mode…”

Nagi gave her a wide-eyed look at that, and realized she didn’t understand the extraordinariness of that was.

“Naruto-sama,” one of the numerous two-tailed foxes around came forward. “When you’re ready and would like to get started, you may sign the Kitsune Summoning Contract.”

“That’s awesome!” Naruto beamed at it, cheered up. “Where is it?”

“Like the other Spirits realms, Summoning Contracts do not exist. You will be the first and a physical contract will come into being once you’ve been initiated. Also, Gaara-sama, you mean Raccoon-dog Spirits. Although you will also have command over regular raccoons as well, alongside tanuki…”

Gaara gave it an uneasy look, fidgeting a bit.

When they remembered the topic though, they turned to Nagi questioningly.

He looked away. “I…have the Dragon Spirits’,” he muttered.

“Ah hell, Dad gets to have a cool Summons,” Kankuro started to pout himself. “That’s _awesome_ , Dad.”

Ryuujin preened from atop Nagi’s head.

* * *

 

Somehow, their discussion devolved into theme songs about their Summons.

“It’s perfect!” Naruto crowed triumphantly. “‘What does the Fox say~?’ It’s mine and my Summons’ song!”

“That’s no fair! You, lucky, got a song that’s absolutely perfect for you! Who sings about crows anyway? Unless it’s something morbid!” Kankuro shouted, shaking a hand at the sky about the unfairness of it all.

Gaara glared at them. “Who sings about _raccoons_? Worse – _raccoon-dogs_? No one, that’s who.”

“Yeah, well, it’s just this one song!” Naruto huffed. “No other song will have something about foxes in it! I’m just lucky that this song came out and was luckily enough completely fitting and matching to me and apparently my new Summons.”

Nagi opened his mouth and shut it as all three of them turned their glares onto him.

“Don’t talk!” they yelled.

“There are probably _dozens_ of songs talking, mentioning, having something about dragons in them,” Kankuro muttered bad-temperedly.

Deciding to start his campaign against his sons and to further punish Naruto for continuing to ‘torment’ him (aside the noodles he planned to continue stealing from her), he went on to be a bad sport.

“Well, it’s not my fault that dragons are cool and everyone seems to really like them,” Nagi smirked.

“Shut up, Dad. Just shut up,” Kankuro growled, giving his dad the stink eye.

“I don’t mean to burst anyone’s bubble or anything…but we’ve been here for a long time. Our absences would have worried everyone by now, right?” Naruto suddenly spoke up and everyone froze. “Especially since Kazekage-sama’s one of the ones missing.”

Nagi narrowed his eyes at her grumpily, but she just gave him a look that was a cross between apologetic and sheepish.

“Kankuro and I will head back first then,” Gaara decided for them. “We can inform whoever needs to know what happened and where we went, and get things to be on track. Father, you should stay here and watch over Naruto as she trains.”

However, there was a look to both of his sons’ eyes, as well as Gaara’s ever increasingly present barely there smirk, that told Nagi they were hinting to him at something. He scowled at them.

“We can reverse summon them back,” the same fox spirit that told them about Naruto’s “Kitsune” Contract spoke up. “Naruto-sama and Nagi-sama may travel to the Toads’ realm with Gamabunta-san.”

Nagi noted the honorifics for everyone, inwardly frowning as he did so.

“Alright then, Dad, Kaa-chan,” Nagi glared at Kankuro again. When the hell did they start that habit? “We should be going now.”

“What’s with this ‘Kaa-chan,’ you two?” Naruto growled and alarming Nagi, who was inwardly panicking about her might finding out why. “Stop being little punks.”

Gaara took over immediately. “Why? You want me to start calling Shukaku ‘Kaa-san’ and muttering to myself and talking to him and my sand, acting like they’re my mother instead?” causing them all to stare at him wide-eyed in horror.

“I could always do that instead,” he deadpanned.

Naruto face palmed and gave up. “Fine. Do whatever you want.”

Nagi didn’t know whether to yell at Gaara later or thank him thoroughly for aiding in Nagi’s self-delusions.

“Goodbye, Otou-san, Kaa-chan,” Gaara also told them goodbye, before he and Kankuro were teleported out of there by two kitsune.

“Before you go, Naruto-sama,” a new voice joined the group and they turned to see a kitsune with five tails come forward, actually walking straight and tall like a human, and dressed in a white kimono. “I am Mamori, kitsune goddess of protection. To you, as initiation as our Summoner, eat a bite of this special rice. You will need to only endure seven days of the effects.”

Mamori handed her a silver bowl filled with rice that glinted like gold, although Nagi may or may not be biased about the color. However, he was pretty sure he wasn’t, and that the rice was strangely gold-like and different from any rice he’d seen, including the rice they’d previously eaten there.

Naruto shrugged and took the bowl, using the chopsticks she’d been using to scoop up some and eat it. Without warning, she dropped the bowl and chopsticks and held her hands to her throat, coughing harshly. Nagi rushed over to her, alarmed at her reaction.

“What did you do to her?” he glared at Mamori, who only smiled slightly at her.

“Do not worry. She will be fine. Just as you must endure Ryuujin-sama’s constant presence for awhile, she must endure something from the Kitsune.”

She disappeared suddenly and Nagi furrowed his eyebrows. But when he looked down, his mind blanked and he stared at Naruto’s new features.

She had a fox tail and ears.

“N-Naruto…”

“W-what is it?” she asked breathlessly, reaching up and gripping onto him tightly. She leaned on him and he helped support her.

“Um…you may, uh, have some new additions,” he mumbled.

She blinked at him in confusion and he grabbed a cup of water, holding it up to her so she could see her reflection.

“Kami-sama! What the hell happened to me?!” she screamed, before wincing at the volume of her own voice and clutching at her new ears.

“Never mind that, Naru-chan,” Gamabunta interrupted her. “We should get back, so you can begin your training. It will take awhile, but I have a feeling you may take a shorter time than Jiraiya-baka.”

Naruto pouted about her new additions, but nodded and began to look eager for the new training opportunity.

“Yeah! Let’s go,” Naruto pumped a fist into the air. “Come on, N-Nagi,” she stuttered, surprising him.

Naruto looked at him from under her eyelashes and gave him a shy smile. His heart fluttered (how does _that_ happen?) and he automatically smiled back.

And she called him _Nagi_.

He hid his dreamy look and grabbed her hand, determinedly marching towards the huge toad.

* * *

 

Nagi had been itching to pet Naruto for awhile now. As she meditated, his hands kept twitching and he couldn’t stop staring at her new ears. He really wanted to pet them…

“They look so soft,” he muttered to himself, still watching.

“They do, they do,” Ryuujin agreed, bobbing his head.

Nagi squashed the dragon god back onto his head.

“How about a break, Naru-chan?” Shima, one of the Elder toads Nagi had been introduced to, told Naruto and broke her concentration. “Your meditation is much, much better. Your med-nin training has helped a lot with that. Soon enough, we can maybe try it again with the special toad oil.”

“Ne, Shima-sama,” Naruto grinned at the female toad. “Maybe there’s a toad I can kiss and will turn into a prince!”

“Ahaha, instead of ‘Desert Prince,’ you should be upgraded to ‘King!’ You won’t have to fight for power with your prince!”

Nagi gained a glint in his eye. “That special toad oil can turn one into a toad, right?”

“…Yes,” Gamabunta watched the other in confusion.

“I see.”

And then Nagi got up and started manically making his way to a pond full of that special toad oil. The many toads around him, who had been watching Naruto with him, panicked as they all tried to grab onto him and keep him away from the pond.

“No, don’t do it! You’ll turn into a toad,” one of them screamed.

“ _Exactly_ ,” Nagi muttered, somewhat insanely in their opinion. “Naruto will then _kiss_ me.”

Kiss _him_. Not him kissing her (without her knowledge) or-or-or Gaara making her kiss him when it was really Nagi still doing the kissing –

The point was that Naruto would be kissing him!

“It won’t exactly work like that, Nagi-san,” Gamabunta finally reached out and picked him up, relieving the other toads of their task and all who let out relieved sighs as well. “You won’t exactly get turned back just from a kiss. And really, that’s just a fairytale.”

“But I would still get to be kissed by Naruto,” Nagi grumbled.

Gamabunta set him down and patted his back with one toad finger in condolence. Ryuujin chewed on his hair.

“N-Nagi,” Naruto tripped on his name again, but at least she was saying it. He beamed happily at her. Nothing mattered then. He was on cloud nine. “Did you see! I’m doing great so far! Just you wait, I’ll be in Sage Mode in no time!”

“Will you kiss me then?” Nagi blurted out. Ryuujin yanked his hair in warning and Nagi snapped his mouth shut.

“What was that, N-Nagi?” Naruto said as she finally reached his side.

“Nothing, nothing,” he muttered.

“Sorry I keep tripping on your name,” Naruto rubbed the back of her head. “I’m trying though, ‘cause I know it means a lot to you.”

Nagi ruffled her hair. “And that makes me happy enough.”

* * *

 

“So…let me get this straight,” Baki stared at his subordinates. “You two, Naruto, and your father…all ended up in the Summoning Worlds…with your father landing specifically in another realm dealing with spirits altogether…before all of you were dragged all the way to yet another separate spirit world that was full of kitsune and who apparently regard Naruto highly.”

“Yeah, ‘cause, you know…Naruto’s got the Kyuubi in her and all,” Kankuro shrugged.

Baki’s brain halted.

“What kind of sensei are you, huh? Not even telling the rest of us something as important as that,” the puppet user insulted him.

“Unless you _didn’t_ know that little fact,” Gaara slipped in slyly. “In which case, that makes you an even worse sensei.”

Baki breathed through his nose hard and pinched the bridge of it.

“I have a headache. Just stop.”

Kankuro snorted. “Fine, whatever.” He suddenly gained a glint in his eyes very similar as to what his father had gained in Mt. Myoboku in his odd temporary madness. “I got some info to spread around. We’re making Suna a zoo!”

He left laughing and Baki almost thought he was alone and free to sort through his thoughts, trying to figure out what to do with Nagi’s absence and apparent sudden vacation.

And then Gaara coughed slightly and unblinkingly watched him.

“Gaara, please leave me to bemoan the fact that, for once, your father decided not to be a workaholic and suddenly had the desire to take a vacation on us. And find out how to get the work done.”

Gaara’s sand brought his father’s robe and hat to him, and Gaara slipped on the large kage robes and plopped the hat onto his head. The hat kept slipping over his eyes and he kept having to push it back upright with hands that were covered with long sleeves. The kage robes themselves dwarfed Gaara.

Completely serious (and yet also looking ridiculous), Gaara strode over to his father’s chair and plopped down on it.

“I watch Otou-san. I can do it,” Gaara said stoically.

Baki stared. And then he threw his hands up.

“I give up! You’re hired.”

Started 12/24/13 – Completed 12/25/13


	17. I'm a Visionary, Baby!

This…was his last chance.

No, seriously. After that night, Naruto’s pretty ears and tail were going bye bye. And _he still hadn’t pet them_.

That was going to be corrected right then, he decided. It was a once and a lifetime opportunity. Naruto will most likely never have those appendages ever again, and it was like a limited edition Icha Icha Paradise selling out fast kind of situation for the perverts of the world.

He didn’t care how perverted _this_ sounded –this was Naruto’s fox tail and ears, and they were _cute_ and looked _so soft_.

“Do you know how crazy and weird this looks? Makes _you_ look?” Ryuujin butted in.

“I won’t say anything if you wanted to cuddle her tail.”

“Deal.”

And there were no more obstacles to his path.

Before long, he’d stealthily made it over to where Naruto slept, and quietly sat down next to her sleeping body. He paused and took a moment to think that over, shaking his head at himself before staring at her fox ears and deciding that this wasn’t the time to falter and think he was a moronic idiot when her adorable ears were there and might not be there for very long after. Hands shaking, he reached out (just as Ryuujin traveled from his head and jumped onto her stomach from Nagi’s knee) and lightly touched her fox ears.

He practically melted pathetically.

But they really _were_ so soft.

“So soft,” both he and Ryuujin sighed happily.

Suddenly, Nagi felt a presence and both he and his draconic companion looked up and saw Gamabunta, Fukasaku, and Shima staring weirdly at them.

“What?” Ryuujin snapped haughtily. “They’re absolutely divinely soft. You wouldn’t understand.”

Nagi full-heartedly agreed with his Summon.

“They’ll be gone soon,” Nagi moped. “I don’t even have a camera to take a picture to remember them by.”

Silently, Shima handed him a picture of Naruto with her fox appendages and he brightened up immediately, pleased that he had a picture of a cute Naruto with them.

They just didn’t tell him they also took pictures of him petting her right then.

Hearing a rumble coming from the girl, Nagi and everyone else looked at her. He continued petting her ears, and the sound became louder.

“Is she _purring_?” Gamabunta gaped.

Nagi pet a little more firmer than he’d had before and got a particularly loud purr out of her because of that.

“She is!” Ryuujin sounded oddly delighted about it.

“Ohhh, pet her some more!” all three toads began urging him, ultimately changing their minds about the weirdness of the whole thing, when Naruto was being adorable even in sleep.

Ryuujin and Nagi traded smug looks. They knew those toads would see it their way.

And when Naruto’s ears and tail were gone in the morning, no one said a thing about that moment to her. And if Nagi was strangely moping for some reason (as he kept sending her glances), no one enlightened the confused and worried Naruto about why.

Naruto decided to forget about it (and consequently remember to get it out of Nagi later).

“I want to be a chuunin already,” Naruto sighed instead. “It’s not like I can do too much as a genin.”

Nagi snorted. “Oh? You already have a _bridge_ named after you. Most chuunin never amount to much, much less getting structures named after them.” Still, he hesitated. Sighing, he decided to bring up the Exams. “Not too long from now, the Chuunin Exam is coming,” he revealed resignedly. “It will be in Konoha.”

She was practically vibrating with excitement, so she hadn’t caught on to his reservations. If she had been less excited, she would already know why he wasn’t too sure or happy about sending her there for the Exam.

“Naruto, it is going to be in _Konoha_ ,” he reiterated as he emphasized the place.

She looked slightly confused and her excited smile wavered.

“You are the daughter of their Yondaime and of Uzumaki Kushina, two of their most beloved heroes. You are also their jinchuuriki –”

“Not theirs anymore,” she interrupted vehemently. “I’m _your_ jinchuuriki now.”

A warmth grew in his chest at her announcement as being his, just as a bit of possessiveness started to grow too.

“Yes, well…you are also a dead ringer for Minato. You are definitely, without doubt, going to be recognized. And with all that you are, they won’t want to let you go.”

Her face turned red in anger, but she looked so adorable that his lips couldn’t help twitching up. She surprised him by grabbing tightly onto him.

“Well…well…Who cares!” she burst out indignantly. “They suck! They’ll have to pry me off of you!”

Nagi couldn’t help staring at her dumbfounded, but then he ended up giving her a rather silly grin, completely and utterly in bliss. He didn’t remove his arm (of course not), but he did shift a bit so that Naruto would be leaning against him. That made him even happier and he couldn’t help subtly leaning back into her.

“So when’s the Chuunin Exam?” she asked quietly.

“There are still a few months. It’s in July, I think,” he answered, content with their position together.

“Aa, I see,” she hmmed. “That’s like after your birthday, right?”

He froze, happy mood crashing.

“W-what?”

“Your birthday?” she turned to look at him with a wide grin. “Isn’t it somewhere before July? Like…March…March something…”

“How do you know that?” he didn’t want her to know his birthday! Or remember how old he was! Or know his birthday and know what age he’s turning into and start to think he’s old –

He needed to stop rambling. He needed to stop panicking.

Naruto blinked at him. “Why wouldn’t I know when’s your birthday? You’re the Kazekage. You know how much you are im… _portant_ to me, even back then. I tried to learn everything I could about you.”

Again, he felt all flustered, remembering her strange attentiveness to him in the years passed, back before they’d known each other personally. And he felt idiotically giddy about it too now, what with his feelings for her and all.

“You’re turning 30...30…35, right?” she was trying to remember.

“34!” he said quickly, looking uncomfortable. “I’m not that old yet.”

Naruto looked at him funny. “Old? Wherever did you get that idea? You’re nowhere near old, silly Nagi!” she rolled her eyes at him, but he was infinitely grateful that she didn’t see him as old, at least.

Still –he’d wanted to avoid any mention of his birthday around her, and making her remember how old he really was. Even if it seemed she didn’t really care right then…

“So, um, training seems to be doing good for you,” he said instead, changing the subject.

Before she could answer, her face all excited and she eager to talk about it, their conversation was cut off and Naruto was being called back to training once more.

* * *

 

Sweat dripped off of her brow, but she was grinning in success.

“I did it,” she said in awe.

Nagi was looking awestruck at her too. “Yeah, you did,” he murmured.

Naruto had managed to master _Sage Mode_. She was able to fully utilize Sage Mode finally, and only in one month. She’d also learned Frog Kata and mastered the basics, and was looking forward to advancing the more she practiced.

“We’ll have to spar together, and see how Frog Kata does against another style,” Nagi said warmly, making Naruto’s cheeks heat up.

“Oh? I would have thought Gaara got his non-taijutsu skills from you,” she ended up teasing him a bit. “Gathering your similar styles…I would have to guess you’d suck at taijutsu.”

Nagi huffed and playfully glared at her. “I’ll have you know, I’m more than adequate at taijutsu. I _am_ a kage, you know. I should hope to have the skills to match my station.”

She snickered at him, but they were being ushered to bathe soon after and then to bed. Only, Naruto didn’t go to sleep. She couldn’t really.

She was feeling a bit melancholy. Thoughts of being snatched up by Konoha plagued her. Naruto was happy in Suna. She was happy being in Team BAMF. She was happy with…Nagi.

“Naruto, you still up?” Nagi’s sleepy voice greeted her from behind, having been asleep for a bit before stirring awake and realizing Naruto had not yet gone to bed.

“Un,” she was glad it was dark, because she was blushing and she really didn’t want him to see it. Her blush darkened as he sleepily plopped down next to her and slung an arm around her shoulders. It worsened even more when he pulled her closer to him, until she was being held tightly against his side. From how close she was to him, she could smell the usual cinnamon and spices smell off of him.

The truth was she didn’t want to remember what she felt. She very well did remember the fact she’d been close to admitting she liked the Kazekage, after having been confronted with it by Inari shoving it into her face that time. At first, she thought she’d been having separate feelings for two different people, when she thought Tenoh and the Kazekage were two different men. But now that she knew they were one and the same, it became worse and she’d shoved those feelings to the back of her mind. After all, she couldn’t have feelings for her Kazekage! That’s just…dumb. There’s just _no way_. How dumb could she be?

And yet, when Nagi unthinkingly kissed the top of her head, she inwardly grumbled. Oh, who was she kidding?

“Nagi,” she murmured. “You’re really, really…important to me,” she confessed quietly. “You’re the most important person to me.”

Nagi’s eyes snapped wide open and suddenly he wasn’t so sleepy any more. His breath lightened and he’d stilled, but he tried not to mistakenly seem put off. Actually, he was pretty fucking ecstatic right then.

“Naruto, you know, I _really_ like you,” he pulled back a bit, and smiled slightly at her. He tilted her head and kissed her forehead gently. “You’re really important to me too,” he whispered.

Naruto knew her heart was beating rapidly, while her face was burning bright red. But she felt really happy and even giddy about the whole moment, and she’ll just stick her tongue out and blow a raspberry at anyone who’d laugh at her reaction.

Like she’d care. Nagi was being extra sweet and kind to her right then.

A mental chibi version of herself popped a champagne bottle and let it fizz about as she jumped around in celebration.

* * *

 

Gaara’s eyes twitched as the old geezer kept going on. Letting out a low growl, he flung a hand out and a wave of sand grabbed hold of the Council member and tossed him out of the office and through the open door that an Anbu had opened (they were used to getting it open in time by now). Gaara grumbled as he walked to his father’s desk and plopped down onto the chair. He glared at the mountain of paperwork on the desk, and used his sand to grab a bunch on top and stuff it into a hole some of his other sand had dug. Then he covered it in even more sand.

Just then, Baki burst through the door all agitated.

“Appointment?” Gaara asked in boredom, not even looking at his sensei.

“Don’t ‘appointment’ me, you little brat!” his eye twitched badly. “You can’t keep throwing out Council members!”

Gaara blinked. “Why not? They’re annoying. If Dad did it, he’d be so less stressed out.”

Baki blew air out in exasperation. “That’s not the point! Your dad gets the job done. Do the job seriously! And what’s with all this sand?!” He touched a counter, before pausing. “What in the…” he wiped the sand off and gaped. “Is this…is this where the paperwork is disappearing off to?!”

Gaara gained shifty eyes, subtly smoothing over the sand covering the hole that hid the large stack of paperwork he had just hid in there.

Baki threw up his hands. “I give up!” he stormed out and Gaara huffed.

He crossed his arms across his chest, and scowled when the sleeves of the kage robe got in the way. Huffing again, he took off the robe and hat.

“Anbu!” A few of them came out of hiding and Gaara shoved the clothing into one of the Anbu’s hands.

“Can you get this altered to my size?”

The Anbu paused and tilted his head, staring at his temporary Kazekage. He then shrugged and left, thinking to hell with it.

Gaara nodded in satisfaction.

Although, his dad might be more than a little irritated at the fact his office was covered in sand. Not like sand from the outside coming in (beside there being Seals to prevent that), but more like…everything was practically covered in a sheen of sand. And there were literally mounds of it in certain places.

And various paperwork was hidden around the office, hidden underneath more sand.

Okay, so maybe his father would definitely be more than a little mad.

The door opened and another Council member was preparing to go inside. Gaara flicked his hand lazily and the sand near the door reached up and shut it in the Council member’s face. Gaara didn’t even look over, instead staring down grumpily at the paperwork. He used some sand to lift it up and put it aside, and then let the sand fall over it and hid it.

There –done.

* * *

 

“Ah, Nagi, look at this!” Naruto brought over a small, nondescript bottle. “Gamabunta-san gave it to me! It smells really sweet.”

Nagi gently took the bottle from her and sniffed, eyes widening when he realized what the drink was.

“Naruto, this is saké,” he informed her duly. It did smell good though, probably one of the better made saké out there.

Naruto blinked, staring at him with wide blue eyes. “Really? I didn’t know. I was going to ask you to try it with me, but…” she looked at him tentatively. “And I don’t want to drink it in front of you either.”

He gave her a reassuring smile. “I’m fine, Naruto. I don’t mind you drinking, and I’m not all that bothered by alcohol in the first place. I only get odd occasions, when I feel extremely upset –but I have you, ne? I don’t need to be so sad anymore,” he winked at her, causing her face to heat up again.

“Then…” she glanced furtively at him. “Um…try it with me?” she was practically mumbling.

“Maybe in a bit. Why don’t you try it first?” Nagi suggested. “So I can use your reaction to see if I want to try it or not,” he ended mischievously, causing her to pout.

“Fine,” she huffed, but poured some into a little saucer cup she had with her. “I’ll be your guinea pig.”

She took a swig and drank the saucer cup down, before blinking rapidly.

“Ish awesome!” Naruto screamed a moment later and already slurring.

Nagi blinked in surprise. “She just had _one_ saucer cup full of saké. Why is she already drunk?” he asked Gamabunta warily, who had ambled towards them as she drunk it.

Gamabunta chortled loudly. “That’s Mt. Myoboku saké for you!”

Nagi was still rather skeptical, so he poured some into Naruto’s cup. Indirect Kisses. He chuckled quietly to himself and drank the saké in one go. He suddenly felt lightheaded and felt his face warming up already.

“Woah. That’s…strong.” But he kept going until the bottle was finished, but at least it was a small bottle.

Then again, it was Mt. Myoboku saké, and he was much too inebriated already, from one single bottle –no matter how tiny it was. _Especially_ because it was so tiny.

“I’M TARZAN!” Naruto strangely was yelling, balancing on one of the trees.

“I’m not Jane,” Nagi grumbled, blinking a bit to focus his out-of-focus sight.

“JANE!” Naruto glomped onto Nagi, suddenly next to him when she’d been some ways away on top of a tree.

Nagi stared. “Oh, Taarrzzan,” he was slurring now too. “Holze me and Imma damsel in deztressss~” he glomped her back and rubbed his head happily against her bosom. “My Taaarrzaaan.”

Fuck it, he’ll be Jane if he got to hold onto her tightly like this.

* * *

 

Gaara hummed under his breath as he strode along the streets of the sandy village, all decked out in his outfitted custom kage gear. If he was preening and strutting around in them, he wasn’t going to acknowledge and say anything about it.

“Good evening, Kazek –” the lady selling bread stopped and stared.

Gaara smiled slightly and waved.

“Er…Gaara-sama, I mean,” she continued, confused and not understanding. “Uh, there’s fresh bread here, if you’re interested.”

Gaara decided that it would be good to do some grocery shopping. Naruto did all the cooking –it was only fair for the rest of them to do the other chores, such as shopping for things that Naruto may need to cook meals.

And if he bought extra gizzard for her to cook, he wouldn’t admit to spoiling and indulging himself.

When he returned home, he packed away the groceries and ignored Kankuro, who was munching on some of the Valentine’s chocolate that many girls in the village had given to Gaara.

“Why don’t you eat your own chocolate, Kankuro-baka?” Temari snarked as she reheated leftovers of food Naruto had made before her disappearance.

They were starting to have to ration the food now.

Kankuro glared. “I have some! I just…don’t want to eat it all at once. And Gaara has so many –you don’t mind sharing, right Gaara?”

“...”

“I’ll take that as a yes,” Temari smirked.

“I’ll take that as a _no_ ,” Kankuro stuck his tongue out at her. He popped another chocolate into his mouth and chewed obnoxiously at her.

She scrunched up her nose. “Ew. Gross, Kankuro.”

He repeated the action smugly, causing her to narrow her eyes and steal the bag of chocolates he’d been eating out of.

“Besides, you’re just upset that you didn’t get all that many chocolates. Or that Gaara got more than you,” she teased him, although she started eating some chocolate out of the bag herself.

Gaara cleared his throat, interrupting them from their bickering.

“Whose are these?’ the red head sweatdropped at the “small” pile of chocolates amassed onto their kitchen table, and was even bigger than his own.

“Oh that? That’s Dad’s. Women were delivering them left and right,” Temari rolled her eyes as she remembered that.

Gaara was rather relieved. For some reason, he had the wild thought that maybe they had been for Naruto, which couldn’t be right since Valentine’s was when females gave chocolate to men, and White Day was when the males were supposed to reciprocate. He chuckled quietly as he reiterated that thought to his siblings, but his small smile slipped off his face as he noticed them silenced and fidgeting.

“Er…Naruto’s load of chocolate is in her room. There was…no room to keep with Dad’s or anywhere else in the house without scattering or something,” Kankuro scratched the back of his head.

Gaara blinked and slowly walked over to Naruto’s room, peeking his head inside. He gaped unabashedly.

There was literally a mountain of chocolate gifts on top of her bed, with stacks all over her desk, chair, dresser. There was also…

“Is that –”

“A life-sized chocolate model of Naruto, complete with prince outfit and holding a chocolate rose dashingly?” Temari laughed anxiously.

“Yep,” Kankuro added in deadpan. “She also received an expensive limited edition chocolate kunai and shuriken set from Shinoda-sensei.”

“Huh,” Temari frowned thoughtfully. “I _thought_ Shinoda-sensei had a crush on Ouji-sama. Guess I was right…”

Gaara inwardly rolled his eyes fondly. “It would be just like Naruto to receive chocolates, even though she’s female. I suppose it’ll be even worse on White Day?”

They all thought on that before shaking their heads.

“Poor Dad,” the three said in unison.

* * *

 

“Uh need help,” Nagi yelled as much as he could, as he leaned against the top of the top of the tree. “Come safff meeee, my princess!”

Naruto made a valiant pose. “I’m coming, Sleeping Beauty! Princess Charming is coming to your rescue!”

Nagi was a bit miffed she was already slurring less, while he’d gone on to slurring more. It really wasn’t fair…

But then he almost lurched off the tree and that thought was completely replaced by focusing on staying on until his makeshift princess came to “rescue” him. Ryuujin better be glad he’d finally left Nagi’s side –he would have made his Summon suffer playing the “evil dragon” he needed saving from.

“I’m coming, Sleeping Beauty. GLITTER ATTACK NO JUTSU!” she threw out her hands and glitter exploded from them at invisible enemies. “Take that! And that!” she kept throwing more glitter around.

Nagi sweatdropped.

He should also admit that he was rather horrified that at least her subconscious remembered the whole Sleeping Beauty/Princess Charming Glitter episode enough to bring the whole scenario (and amplified magnificently) to the forefront and to be played out while she was drunk.

He prayed that no glitter got on him again, or at least no one would catch him covered in glitter like Tsunade had. He refused to have a repeat of that.

Suddenly hearing no sounds, Nagi tuned back to the present and looked for Naruto, seeing her frowning and standing still. Frowning himself, he jumped from his spot on the tree and landed awkwardly on the ground. World tilting, he tried to make himself focus and pushed away the drunken haze enough to stumble towards Naruto.

“Naruto, what’s wrong?” he enunciated clearly, to get rid of the slurs and focus on her and her concerns.

“S’Valentine’s Day today,” she murmured, still frowning. “I didn’t get to get you chocolate for today.”

His cheeks warmed up and he was most probably grinning goofily. But who the fuck cares? She had been planning to get him _chocolate_ for _Valentine’s_. He could only hope they would have been special _honmei_ chocolates…

“Okay!” Naruto nodded surely. “I got it! Happy Valentine’s Day, Nagi!”

And she leaned up, towards him, and kissed him sweetly on his lips.

Nagi’s mind completely blanked out and he practically stopped breathing.

Started 1/16/14 – Completed 2/21/14

 

_**Omake! (The Genjutsu Tales Remixed!: Kushina Style)** _

Minato stared in horror at his girlfriend. Currently, Uzumaki Kushina was chasing Orochimaru around, drooling and screaming about ramen.

 _Ramen_. Of all things! And what did that have to do with Orochimaru?

“Oh Kami-sama, what happened to Kushina-chan?” the blond gaped at the spectacle.

Uchiha Mikoto coughed politely beside him, blushing slightly.

“Um…that might be my husband’s fault,” she sounded apologetically. “Apparently Kushina insulted Fugaku about something, and he retaliated –rather childishly, I might add –by putting Kushina under a random genjutsu.”

Minato blinked. “…Oh.”

“RAMEN, MY LOVE!”

“GET OFF ME, WOMAN!”

Somewhere close by, Uchiha Fugaku cackled under his breath as he watched the whole thing.

“Take that, Kushina! Making fun of my hair and comparing it to _Hyuuga_ -teme!”

His hair was _not_ getting that long.

And it won’t ever! Even if Mikoto thought it would look pretty.

Started 3/3/14 – Completed 3/3/14


End file.
